Persona Powers Hetalia FE3
by Mitsuki Horenake
Summary: The male pathway of Persona Powers Hetalia. It was only supposed to be the beginning of a new year in World Academy for Charice and Rizal Pacquiao. But when something starts breaking out into this world, only Rizal has the power to hold everything back at bay. Fortunately, he is not alone in this fight. Unfortunately, he will be.
1. The Beginning of His Side

**After a few minutes of asking around and thinking about it, I am finally going to do this. That's right: Persona Powers Hetalia, with Rizal as the main character. I call it "Persona Powers Hetalia FE3"! This is strictly going on request based, so if you want to see it, I write it! So…**

**/=+=/**

Rizal finally found a place to study quietly for his first test. It had to be English out of all things, but he was good with English literature so he wasn't that worried. Then again, the whole world needed to communicate with America _(the center of the world…?)_ and he only spoke English, so…

"Ah, Rizal. I'm glad I found you here."

He looked up and saw a tall man walking toward him, adorned only by his scarf that he would always wrap around his neck. The smile on his face, while a little intimidating to others, didn't seem to bother the Filipino. He scooted over, allowing the man to sit next to him. He looked at the book cover.

"The Metamorphosis? That's a fun book, da?"

"It's about a man that wakes up and realizing that he's an insect. A boring book, Ivan, don't read it." Rizal stated. "It's pretty horrible, I guess, what with the family unable to accept him in his new form, but then again that's the unconscious fear that many people have once they realize that the ones they love are no longer the same…"

A shadow crossed over his eyes.

"You're thinking about yourself, da?" Ivan smiled. "Don't worry about yourself. You are made in a way that is unique to anyone. There is no one here that can say anything."

"Says the man that scares everyone when he just wants to be friends with someone."

"_**Kolkolkol…"**_

"All right, all right…just saying." He smiled. "Though after you get past the annoying stuff in here, it has such a deep meaning to the author, who was unable to get rid of his fear of his very judgmental father."

"Such is true for German families." Ivan stated.

"Not all of them." Rizal countered.

"Ne…and how would _**you**_ know that?"

Rizal turned his head away, blushing at his statement, when he felt something burn on his shoulder. Ivan stared at him as he turned and saw a dark symbol form itself on his forearm, looking up and seeing that his brown eyes were now glowing a bright golden shine. Ivan stood up, his eyes glowing a bright red.

"He strikes again, da?"

"…why now?" Rizal stood up.

"Well, all of the nations are gathered together in one location…why not?"

He darted upward, seeing the smile on his face and knowing just what he was talking about. Now he just had to find out who was the victim next time…

"Can you handle going back to _**that**_ realm? After everything that…?"

"Ne…I'll be fine, da." Ivan smiled. "We have someone to worry about, you know."

"Right…let's just ask around for now. You know how to call each other."

**/=+=/**

Rizal explored the second hallway near the east wing, seeing if there was anyone that could've fallen in or had been struck. There seemed to be no reason for him to stick around when he heard something that sounded like panicked German. Five seconds later, he was racing through the hallway and saw Ludwig looking around in confusion.

"Oh, Rizal."

"Doitsu?" He wanted to smack himself. Doitsu? Really? Why not Germany? "What's going on?"

"Have you seen my brother anywhere?" He asked.

"Gilbert? No, why?"

"I don't know…but we were in this room talking about the upcoming project when he left the room and vanished…" He sighed. "He's usually the type to ditch, but never this suddenly."

"Vanish?"

Rizal looked outside the door, his eyes noticing a huge glyph on the floor just fading away. He shook his head and turned back to Ludwig, who was now staring at him in confusion before shaking his head as well.

"If you find him, can you please tell him to find me? I hate it when he ditches like this."

"I'll make sure to tell him." He stated quickly. "In the meantime, you should try looking elsewhere in the building."

"Yeah…thank you."

The German quickly left the room, leaving Rizal alone. The Filipino walked toward the off TV in the room and touched the screen, seeing the screen pulse and vibrate like it was water at his fingertips. He nodded before rubbing the symbol on his shoulder. Five seconds later, a door slid open behind him.

"I heard you call."

"It's Gilbert." He answered. "That annoying son of a bitch got himself captured."

"Ne…but who could ever tell when he's coming? If not, he'd be caught by now."

"True." Rizal sighed. "Well, whatever the case may be, we better go after him."

"Da."

**/=+=/**

**So as you can see, Rizal's story would've been laid out differently from that of Charice's. Hers is that of falling into a situation and helping Li Xiao solve a murder mystery. Rizal's story is basically that of Li Xiao, only without Charice and with Ivan being Carlos. Strange stuff.**

**Request what you want to see from Rizal's POV, for there are things that are exclusive only to his story. There will be stuff exclusive to Charice's **_**(aka I won't do it)**_**, like Feliciano's world and the issue between Li Xiao and Kiku…but you'd be surprised on what I have in store ;D**


	2. Heading Into the Fallen Castle

**Upon many requests, I will now do Gilbert's world. Don't ask how this works. And plus, I got bored of using Persona for this one, so Rizal's summons are going to be a liiiiitle more 'unique'. Um…they're Final Fantasy summons. REASONS ARE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER.**

**/=+=/**

As they landed in the world, he heard heels tap onto hard marble. He stood up and looked at his uniform, sighing: it was that of Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto _(he should know: his sister loves watching it)_. Next to him, he saw Ivan straightening off his jacket on his new Auron outfit _(how he knew it was from Final Fantasy X, he'll never know)_. They stood for a while, seeing that they were on a road leading into a huge castle in the middle of the night.

"Ne~~~that's a big house."

"Yeah…big." Rizal sighed _(hating his new outfit)_. "Might symbolize his status as a kingdom once."

"Maybe."

The two of them quietly entered the castle, surprised that the door was able to open so quickly. As they walked in, Ivan's ears perked and Rizal saw a Shadow scuttle down the hallway into the depths of the hall. He heard the Russian giggle before he pointed in the same direction as the Shadow's dash.

"He's that way."

"As if the Shadow wasn't any indication." Rizal sighed. "Please stop stating the obvious."

"But it's true, da?"

"…da."

Ivan chirped in happiness as Rizal just slowly walked along. No use arguing here, not when he could be pushed over the edge and-

"I believe those are Shadows?"

He paused as he saw two of them erupt from the corners of the room. Ivan started laughing as his glyph started to shine a bright purple, stating that he was going to do it. Rizal blinked before activating his as well. The Shadows cringed as two images appeared behind them. Behind Ivan was a being with metallic purple wings and covered with purple armor and white silk, and behind Rizal loomed what looked like a huge set of cannons forming into a man.

"Did you seriously have to summon that now?" Rizal looked up. "I can handle these two…"

"I can still control it, Rizal. Do not worry about me." Ivan laughed. "You have more to worry about here."

"Yeah, yeah…just because I'm more of a unique case does NOT make this any worse…"

Ivan laughed as his Persona Mateus quickly sent a wave of ice to easily destroy them. Just as they were going to relax, about fifteen of them came back from the corners, all aimed toward Ivan. Before he could react, a huge blade shot out and sliced through all of them. He turned his head and saw a huge metallic angel that looked more of a robot than his own Persona. He laughed.

"And you're worrying about _**me?**_ That's already two Persona, da?"

"_**I can handle the both of them, Ivan."**_

"At the same time?"

He sighed as he turned back to normal, the Persona sign on his shoulder growing just a millimeter in length. It seemed to burn his skin, a move that he didn't seem to remark upon. All Ivan did was lightly place his hand on the young boy, making him look up and sigh at the childish look on his face.

"I told you." He answered.

"I know. I can't help but worry, da?"

"…da."

**/=+=/**

"How much longer is this road?"

"It'll go on for a while…" Rizal looked around. "Ivan, why aren't you scared?"

"Ne?"

"Gilbert really hates you, I think. So his mind is definitely going to be extremely violent toward you."

"I noticed. The Shadows were definitely aiming towards me, da?"

"They were…"

It was then that Rizal's nose started catching something. He darted his head around and saw that Ivan was still smiling at him, but blood was starting to drip from his mouth. Rizal gasped and headed toward Ivan who didn't waver at all, but instead wiped the blood from his mouth and side.

"Ne…they seem to have found us, da?"

"Where the hell were you attacked?"

"I think it was the back."

_**["HAH! I finally get to have my revenge on him!"]**_

Rizal and Ivan looked up to see that Gilbert's Shadow had found them, his eyes shining a bright gold instead of their usual red. His blade had been completely tainted red, showing that he was the one who attacked Ivan. Gilbert grinned as he dropped to their level ground.

"Really now…is that the best you can do?" Rizal grinned.

_**["I can do so much better than this…are you going to face me?"]**_

"It's not like I have any choice."

His glyph started to glow as Gilbert's Shadow began to shine, slowly changing its shape until it created its true form: a distraught demon bleeding and fraying at the seams. It was definitely a sign of his now nonexistent kingdom, he thought. He was living on borrowed time.

"Gilbert Beillschmidt…a being sinking deep into the scars of a tormented past. Open your eyes and face your demons lest it comes to eat your innocence…"

Ivan prepared his pipe as Rizal lifted up his arm and pulled out Ragnarok from his glyph.

"When the demons are finally separated…I will carve the final path that you will walk. And you will finally be free."

**/=+=/**

**I was planning on using Personas, don't get me wrong. But the Final Fantasy Summons are going to make more sense as the story goes on. Let's just say that Rizal makes a completely different impact on a nation than what Charice does to them. They ARE based a little bit off of mythology…**

**[Rizal] – ****Alexander****, a Weapon imbued with a Sacred Power, and ****Ragnarok****, the Sacred Weapon**

**[Ivan] – ****Mateus****, the Corrupt**

**By the way, just to let you know, I already told you that there are certain characters that are Charice centric only, right? I'm making a list of who's Charice centric, and whoever is not on the list is good going to be in Rizal's. So here's the list.**

**LI XIAO CHUN**

**KIKU HONDA**

**ALFRED F. JONES**

**ARTHUR KIRKLAND**

**FELICANO VARGAS**

**So basically, the whole cast is going to be new. And since there will be no United States and United Kingdom in this version, there's going to be another side pairing. **_**GUESS WHAT THAT ONE IS ;D**_


	3. The Legendary Sword Ragnarok

**Yaaaaay, another chappie! And yes, you have seen the lack of music in this one. Music is going to play less of a role here than in Charice's, so there will be no playlist. Sorry DX**

**/=+=/**

_**["You think you can stop me? You don't even know anything about me!"]**_

"I know…not yet, anyway."

Rizal grinned as he allowed Ivan to skip forward with the wound on his back slowly closing itself as he summoned Mateus from his glyph. Her wand quickly shot ice sculptures toward the Shadow, who grinned and slashed them away with one flick of the wrist. That same shockwave threw them all back until they crashed into the wall.

"Ne…I never saw a Shadow so strong before…"

"This is his mind, Ivan. I'm surprised he decided to toy with us." Rizal lifted up his yo-yo with a grin on his face. "Let's play."

His eyes began to hover between gold and red as his yo-yo cloned itself four times between his fingers and he and the Shadow began their attack. There were no Shadows or Personas involved: it was just a heated battle between two men that wanted nothing more than pride and blood. Ivan sighed as he summoned Mateus again.

"Tsk, tsk, Rizal…you always have to be so blood thirsty…and you worry for me?"

Ivan fused with him, turning into a warrior bathed in deep purple, and flew into the battle. As the clashing continued to echo throughout the room, Ivan summoned an ice bomb to separate the both of them. Rizal looked up and snarled as Ivan hovered between the both of them.

"Rizal, I think it's time for you to calm down." Ivan smiled. _**"It**_ was about to come out again."

That shut him up, but it didn't make Gilbert calm down. Rizal's eyes quickly flashed back to gold as he slashed through all the beams of power and flipped over Gilbert's flying blade. It was really starting to pull back up his war-torn mode, but he had to suppress it…it would be much worse if it was _**him**_ that stopped the fight.

"Ne~~~have you found his weakness yet?"

"There isn't an opening! I can't get in there!" Rizal flipped over more people. "Though I will make this proposition."

"Da?"

"I think you're going to be the one paving the path." He stated. "So don't die on me."

"I will make sure of that, da?"

It was strange. A lot of people feared Ivan because he was so creepy. Rizal _(and possibly Natalya)_ was the only one who knew it was just because of the childlike innocence and the rather strange way of abiding his curiosity. Maybe more people knew. Strange enough, none of them spoke up. It was a strange mixture of misunderstanding and fear. Maybe it's the Communism.

_**["Hahahahaha! Are you seriously thinking that you can beat me at my own game?"]**_ He grinned, spinning around his blade. _**["I am the elite of awesome. I can never be defeated…I can never be destroyed!"]**_

At that statement, Rizal's eyes began to glow and he saw something on his forehead: a bright light. He couldn't help but grin back, his glyph shining and morphing itself over his left arm.

"You're open."

Gilbert slashed toward him while Rizal spun over all of them with ease, until his hand touched the bright light and everything turned to white.

**/~+~/**

"_The Kingdom of Prussia has officially been dissolved."_

"_What?"_

_The nation stood there in shock as his leaders told him all the details that had occurred with this dissolution, but nothing was registering in his head. He only sat there in shock as he thought about these chains of events. He had built himself as a powerful country, this beautiful kingdom…and now he was going to be destroyed during one war? Just like that?_

"_We don't know what to do right now…but sooner or later, England is going to come and make sure that it's official-"_

"_Write whatever the hell they want you too."_

"_Sir?"_

_They turned their heads in shock to see Prussia standing up from his seat, his hand on the table and his gaze down to that clenching hand. He was going to die now? This was going to be the end? What the hell is he going to do…? No. No way in this world. He was a powerful kingdom. He was not going to die like this._

"_Follow their words. Say whatever the hell they want you to say. Make them fat with pride."_

"_Sir? But what about you? If we do, you'll dissolve!"_

"_No way in hell am I going to dissolve. Not by this." He grinned. "All I'm asking you is to save yourselves. You're all human. You're nothing against the powers of an actual nation."_

"…_what about you?"_

"_I'll live through all this. I'll find ways to live through all this. And when the Kingdom finally rises back up from the grave, I'm going to need all of you to be there and help me run it." He looked at his fellow comrades. "Now do you get it? You're all my future. Once we all get through this, I'll be glad to see you all again."_

"_Sire…"_

"_Live through this, boys. I'm seeing you later in this very room, hopefully I'm the one calling __you__ sire."_

"…_agreed."_

**/~+~/**

Rizal jumped away, hearing the echoes of Gilbert forcing himself to stay alive throughout these years. Half of the time he was coughing up blood, and then he found his mind seeing the images of blood turning into dust. He couldn't help but grin at his determination: sheer willpower had literally halted him from complete dissolution.

"Hah! Maybe he's more awesome than I thought…just…barely, though."

"Ne~~~you found something?"

"Yeah, basically." He grinned. "He's been holding back his own death for years now."

"Hm…really, now?"

"It's been getting worse over the years…apparently, there was a promise involved with a room of men…men long past their lifespans." Rizal stood up. "Though really, sheer willpower…?"

"I think it's…something else."

"Ivan?"

"Ne~~~you made the right prediction. I'm the one who's going to have to carve the path."

"You have the answer?"

"Of course I do, da?"

"…fine. Let's just hope it's what he's looking for."

He held the glyph in his hand before drawing out Ragnarok, swung it around before throwing it to Ivan. The Russian watched as the blade began to shimmer around a bit before glowing a bright yellow. He smiled and gave him a thumbs up, something he got from America.

"It's good~!"

"All right."

_**["Hey! Are you ignoring me?"]**_

"Maybe we are~" Ivan chirped, holding Ragnarok in his hand. "Maybe we're not~"

Rizal said nothing as he saw Ivan chirp openly and make his move, turning Mateus into his armor and going with a one-on-one duel. The entire time, he tried his best to hold back his war-torn mind. It was always so hard to hold it back when it's in its prime situation…

_**Ragnarok…the ultimate sword that might be rivaling legends of Excalibur…**_

"You're going to be cured now, da~?"

_**Alexander…the ultimate weapon shaped to rival the most corrupt of foes…**_

"Your attacks are wavering…you as a Shadow must still be scared of me."

_**Both of them together serve my purpose of cleansing the souls of those burdened with pain and hardship.**_

"Don't worry…I'm going to save you now."

_**With my left hand, Alexander finds the problem that chains the mind down the most.**_

"Just like Master plans it to be…"

_**With my right hand, Ragnarok gives them the answer they seek.**_

"Death is scary, Gilbert…but do not worry. It is for the best in your cause."

_**It works by implanting a memory from the wielder of the blade into the mind of the one who asks the question when it is shoved into the heart.**_

"Дорогие души, что прикован к путанице ..."

_**The problem, when solved, will morph into something new to the twisted soul…**_

"Облака будут очищены и путь будет твердым покрытием."

_**It no longer burdens…it paves.**_

"Пройдите до конца, свободной от страха и сомнений."

_**It becomes…**_

"Теперь иди!"

_**A Persona.**_

**/=+=/**

**Translation for the Russian, line by line:**

"Dear soul that is chained by confusion…"

"The clouds will be cleared and the path will be paved."

"Walk to the end free of fear and doubt."

"Now go!"

**Not to sound stingy, but you better remember this translation. For the course of this entire fanfic spin-off, you're going to be seeing it. Think of it as a trademark saying.**


	4. Gilbert's Secrets

**So Ivan has implanted a memory of his into Gilbert's. Will it help? Maybe.**

**/~+~/**

"_The Kingdom of Prussia will be dissolved."_

_Ivan looked up from the conversation and saw that the Allies were being serious about this. Arthur was stating it for a fact and no one seemed to be arguing about it. He couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for poor Gilbert…and then worried. More than anything, he found himself worrying about Ludwig. Was there anyone that could be there for him like these other pathetic nations?_

"_Is that really necessary?" He spoke up. "Prussia hasn't done anything to us."_

"_He's a German kingdom, man!" Alfred pointed out. "We have to make sure that he doesn't try picking up Germany's pieces and tries to go down his footsteps!"_

_Ivan sighed. Being around war so many times, he's used to hearing that and knew what exactly that meant. But dissolving a nation (or a kingdom, for that matter) is going to automatically kill Gilbert and leave Ludwig alone. Wasn't he the youngest out of all of them? Would it be weird to say that he out of all people knew the true meaning of having true brothers? Alfred and Arthur separated a long time ago, Arthur and Francis hated each other even though they were brothers, and Yao was left behind by many of his countries a long time ago (with the exception of Kiku). But they were grown at that time; they __wanted__ to separate from their brothers. Ludwig, despite being his own country, was still a child and hence too young to lose his only brother._

_**It would be horrible if I lost my brothers and sisters, da?**__ Exactly. __**So what can I do in order to make sure that they will get the kingdom to dissolve and yet still save Gilbert until he is crushed by Ludwig?**_

_That's when he got it._

"_Ne~~~I have a proposition."_

"_Hm?" Arthur looked up. "Name it."_

"_We separate Germany in two parts. East and West." Ivan smiled. "And we'll divide Berlin into four parts as well for the four of us European nations."_

"_Dividing a nation might do the trick when it comes to watching over the government…" Arthur nodded. "So what are we getting-"_

"_I want the Eastern half."_

"_Hah?" Alfred looked up._

"_It's simple: you, Arthur and Francis will divide the western half of Germany between the three of you. I will take care of the entire eastern half." He was telling the truth. "Also, I will take one fourth of Berlin."_

"_That much territory?" Francis blinked. "Now why would you want that much, Ivan?"_

"_It's simple. I want him to be one with me, da? And plus, I can use them to help my economy, especially since I used a lot to fund this war."_

_The others seemed to agree on this, and that was the political truth. But in personal terms, he was lying. He was doing this to save Gilbert. As messed up as it was, he was willing to accept everyone that had been cast aside. That much land should be more than enough to keep a former nation alive until he turned to their new titles. Until then, he can make a nation happy._

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"You…?"

"Yes. I want people to become one with me so that they don't feel alone anymore. In one world, we are all together, happy and content."

"…you have a messed up sense of mind…never thought of you as naïve too."

"Ne~~~I did a good job, didn't I?"

"Sure, why not. So…"

"You still haven't accepted your new title. You are still Prussia."

"I think…I'm ready to let that go now."

"Let it go?"

"I'm Eastern Germany now, right? That's who I was supposed to be, and I'm…I'm taking it."

"That's good to hear. And now, you are free of your death."

"…I still think you're insane, though."

"Ne~~I know."

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

**/=+=/**

Ivan jumped backward as the place where he had stabbed Gilbert began to glow, separating into a small orb before floating behind him and letting the body hit the floor. Rizal stepped forward and headed to Gilbert's location before kneeling toward him. The body twitched before he moved and looked up to Rizal's location. His eyes looked confused.

"Eh? Wer sind Sie?"

"Wha-? **'Who am I?'** Um…" Rizal blinked. "Rizal Pacquiao. Die Republik der Philippinen."

"Philippinen?"

"Ja. Die Hauptstadt und der inneren Inseln. Du erinnerst dich nicht?"

"Nein."

"…um…hold on a minute…sorry." He stood up and turned to Ivan. _"Ivan…what did you do?"_

"_Ne? Oh, I just allowed Gilbert to take his true title now."_

"…_true…title?"_

"_He's been Prussia this entire time, even though he has to be Eastern Germany. So when I went to his memories, he said he was going to be Eastern Germany."_

"_**ARE YOU CRAZY?"**_ Rizal paused and cleared his throat. "You do know that when nations do that, they lose their memories prior to being changing! You know, cleansing the slate for the new nation to grow!"

"Ne~~~ah, I forgot that!"

"Oh greaaaaaat…" Rizal rubbed his forehead. _"What the hell are we going to tell his brother now? We found him in the hallway forgetting everything about himself?"_

"Will Ludwig believe that?"

"Of course not!"

"Ignorieren Sie nicht mich hier! Weißt du, wer ich bin? "

"Oh, right…" Rizal turned around. "I-"

He was about to say something when he heard sobbing coming from the orb, sounding like a little girl. The three of them stared at it as the orb started to transform itself into a physical shape. Rizal nodded as Ivan and Gilbert stood transfixed at who this is going to turn into.

_Once a person has figured out the truth, the burden on their shoulders will turn to the person that he holds dear to them…the one person that they will listen to. Through "them" the burdens are finally released, and their path will be made clear. They will be free._

He wondered who the person would be. Rizal considered Elizabeta concerning the fact that it was a girl's voice. But a lot of people sound like girls when they're children, so he didn't rule out anyone else. Roderich and Ludwig seem to be good choices here. Heck, he was willing to put Francis and he-who-must-not-be-named on the table. As the figure took the human shape, it opened his eyes to reveal…

"Ne~~~it's Feli-chan."

_**Feliciano?**_ Rizal froze. _That's not right…!_

He was crying, making Gilbert's eyes widen in shock. One being that he was starting to remember Feliciano…and two, well, the Italian was crying. What were you supposed to do? Gilbert stood up and walked toward him.

"I-Ita…chan?"

_**["V-veeee~~~G-Gil-chan forgot about me…?"]**_

"I-I almost…b-but now…please don't cry, Ita-chan…please…do it for me?"

_**["Veeee…"]**_ Feliciano looked up and smiled. _**["I-I'll…try, Gil-chan…"]**_

"Thank you…"

He "ve~d" in response before kissing his cheek _(making Gilbert's cheeks redden)_ and backing up, transforming into a huge robed man with shining white hair and what looked like a curl, bearing a rod in his hand. The figure glowed and turned into a stream of light as it sank deep into the place he kissed, transforming into a shining blue glyph. Gilbert rubbed his cheek and turned around to see…

"…Feli?"

"Shut up, Rizal."

"…_**Feli?"**_

"Shut up, Rizal."

"Ne~~~that's funny, da?"

"_**DON'T GET ME STARTED, COMMIE!"**_

**/=+=/**

Rizal dragged Gilbert back into the real world, seeing Ivan walk through the portal and close it from underneath him. He looked at the both of them for a few minutes before turning around and seeing a rather annoyed Ludwig staring back at him.

"There you are, bruder…"

"Oh…hey there, Lud!" He laughed nervously. "I, uh…I just got lost-"

"Oh no you don't. _**Get back here."**_

Ivan and Rizal watched as Ludwig started dragging him across the hallway. Before he was about to leave, Rizal mouthed that he was going to explain to Gilbert everything once they get some time alone. They were rounding a corner when Ludwig looked up and made eye contact with him.

"Thanks for finding him."

"Um…sure." He answered. "No problem."

Ludwig walked away, leaving him and Ivan alone in the hallway. No one seemed to pass them for a while, leaving Rizal to conclude that this was definitely after school hours.

…

"You seem to like stuttering around Germany, da?"

"Shut up, Ivan."

**/=+=/**

**Gilbert = ****Ramuh****, the Scion of Lightning**

**Yeah…there's an omake after this…but before going into the next world, you want me to dub any filler episodes? Cause as badass as Rizal is, he likes to have a break.**


	5. We Reach a Truce?

**Explanation tiiiiimes~!**

**/=+=/**

It wasn't for a few days until Rizal was finally able to get some alone time with Gilbert. It was during lunchtime and he was eating in the lobby like it didn't bother him at all. It must've…but he decided not to remark on it. He plopped down next to Gilbert and proceeded to eat in silence, no one making any remark on anything else.

"So what? You're not going to tell me anything? Totally unawesome."

"I thought you'd be in denial about what happened." Rizal stated.

"Why the hell would I be in denial about that?"

"Because it basically broadcasted your deepest secrets to the both of us."

That shut him up.

"I thought so." Rizal took a sip out of his soup. "I'm still willing to give you any answers, if you want me to."

"…any questions?"

"As long as I can answer them." He answered bluntly. "It's reasonable. No one can understand this on the first try."

"All right then…" Gilbert turned to him. "What the hell was that world, anyway?"

"What, in general? Or specifically what we landed in?"

"Whatever you want to answer me with." He spat. "Listening to your voice, it sounds like it's different."

"It is." Rizal stated.

"Then tell me what the world was that you two landed in."

"It was your world."

"My _**what?**__**"**_

"There are two dimensions in coexistence with each other: our dimension, and the negative dimension. The negative dimension hasn't been shaped yet because there aren't any human beings on it to shape the landscape. Instead, it is literally the collected thoughts and minds of the billions of people that are in our world. Hence, any person that falls into the negative dimension can shape it by whatever thoughts they have."

"Seriously?"

"In your case, they formed what I believe was a Prussian kingdom. Reasonable, considering your roots." Rizal started chewing his food. "And when you fell in, the negative dimension shaped you into your greatest secrets-"

"Wait, what? I thought you said that the negative dimension is shaped by us!"

"It is…but this is the world of your inner self. When you fall into the negative dimension, you do shape it, but your personalities are reversed. Your secrets are what run you when you enter it, and the mask that you use to hide it becomes your true personality." Rizal stated. "It happens whenever anyone falls into the negative dimension, every time."

"Then why haven't you and the damn commie haven't been warped when you went after me?"

"Because of this." Rizal pointed at his shoulder, revealing a glyph that was glowing a bright blue. It was reacting to the one on Gilbert's cheek. "In the negative dimension, what you are and your inner secrets are two different people, hence only one of them is the dominate personality in a certain realm. This is basically a truce between the both of them, saying that what you are now is the dominate personality in both dimensions…as long as the other one gets the true power."

"The true power?"

"The man that appeared before you in your world, remember? The one in all yellow?" Rizal smiled. "That is your inner secret."

"That ancient guy?"

"Yep. Ragnarok separated the both of you."

"Ragnarok?"

"The sword that comes from my glyph." Rizal stated. "It has the ability to insert a memory from the wielder into the being who is being stabbed, helping the inner secret being sorted out."

"So the memory that I was shown…"

"It came from Ivan. He told me about it: being in an Allied meeting and separating Germany in half in order to give you a land to rule over." The Filipino pointed out. "And hence, you became half a nation like the boy that became your key."

"…key?"

"Everyone's secrets involve someone important. When they leave a human body, they turn into that person…the **'key'**, if you mind the word." Rizal lifted his hands for the quote. "That way, the person's more likely to listen and reach that truce."

"So it's a way of saving yourself." Gilbert blinked.

"That's the hope, of course." He answered. "In Ivan's case, I found him in the middle of the frozen tundra and had a problem with accepting the key's words until he accepted them."

"Wait…you looked into _**Ivan?"**_

"That's why he calls me 'master' in that world." Rizal grinned. "It's not that weird if you really think about it…he's more childish than anything else."

"Do you know _**anything**_ about children?"

"The only child I handled in my life is Charice."

"…fine. I'll accept it." Gilbert continued eating his food. "Whatever you're saying."

"So you believe me."

"If it hadn't been for the fact that I fell in that world, I probably wouldn't have. Thought it'd be a nice game idea, though." Prussia shrugged. "Yeah."

…

…

…

"Don't think you're off the hook."

"Eh?"

"I'm still wondering why Feliciano was your key."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Gilbert's face flash a quick shade of red before forcing himself to take the biggest bite out of his sandwich to make an excuse for the blood in his face. Rizal grinned. A foolish attempt, to say the least. Then again, he can repay him for all the times he embarrassed him.

"Is it something I should know?"

"No. None of your business."

"Can I help but be curious?"

"You better. You're not getting any answers from me."

"Then I'll guess." Rizal grinned. "You like him, don't you?"

Gilbert said nothing, but by the blush on his face Rizal knew he hit the jackpot. Charice would be screaming and enforcing her **[GERxITA] **stamps around this time. Thank god she's not around. He decided to go further into this.

"You're not trying to defend yourself."

"…you're not…_**completely**_ wrong."

"Well, at least we're getting somewhere." Rizal smiled. "Was it at first sight?"

He shook his head.

"Was it after the war?"

He nodded.

"21st Century?"

He nodded.

"I'm guessing at least two or three months."

He shook his head.

"Four months?"

He shook his head.

"More than a year?"

He nodded.

"Year and a half?"

"One more guess."

"…more than two years."

"Four."

"_**Damn."**_ Rizal blinked. "Sorry, but…I never thought of you as someone who likes someone past a month or two."

"Hey, we learn how to cope and move on." Gilbert turned to Rizal. "And now I get to ask a question."

"Eh?"

"Are you going googly-eyed for mein bruder?"

Now it was Rizal's turn for his face to flash a complete red. Gilbert's rather embarrassed look was now changing to his "Hunter-Killer" stance…cause, you know, he's Gilbert. Rizal was really starting to regret talking about something like this openly to an albino man who might or might not spill this all out.

"Damn, I'm good."

"Oh, shut up." He turned away. "Like you know anything."

"I wouldn't be awesome if I didn't." Gilbert leaned in. "Unlike the rest of these bozos, I've been paying attention."

"…oh yeah?" Rizal leaned away. "What've you been seeing?"

"Please, you're a slobbering wuss when you're talking to him." He laughed. "You're eager to please around him, and you get rather depressed when he's with Ita-chan."

"…fine, you got me." Not like he can lie now, not since Gilbert's secrets have been exposed.

"Now this is an interesting situation." Gilbert started drinking his canteen. "I like Feliciano, you like mein bruder…two people unconsciously planning on separating the most beautiful couple in the face of this planet."

"I know. Horrible, isn't it." Rizal sighed. "Not to mention that they have Charice on their side."

"Well, there's nothing we can do except trend forward I guess." The Prussian grinned. "You know what? I'm calling a truce."

"Hm?"

"We've been nagging each other for about a few years, right? I call a truce to that." He lifted out his hand. "Two men in the same boat of heartbreak. What do you say, mate?"

"…bonded with the same emotional issue." Rizal smiled, taking his hand. "I accept."

"All right." He grinned. "I say we drink to that!"

"Let me guess…beer?"

"German beer!" He chirped. "Why? I thought you drink?"

"Not during the daytime. And not during class." Rizal's eyes were a little wide. "Seriously?"

"_**HELL YEAH!"**_

Rizal stared at him for a few minutes before sighing. It was the only time he ever went to his next class drunk out of his mind.

**/=+=/**

**And now I'll put in a few bits of filler.**


	6. First Impressions

**Let's add filler~!**

**/=+=/**

Rizal sighed as he wandered the hallways. It was only recently that the school had started and there were literally no clubs for anyone to join. As he headed down the hallway, he heard the Latin American nations talking to each other with a sense of familiarity. He couldn't help but sigh at that. Next to Charice, he was only familiar with Ivan _(and Gilbert…I guess)_. He could barely call what he had with Ludwig a friendship. Heck, were they even acquaintances?

_Probably not…what with Feliciano running around all the time._ He thought. _Speaking of which…_

He looked up and saw that Francis was hitting on his sister with that usual grin on his face. No one had to say anything as Rizal crushed his skull into the pavement. With a yo-yo. And his foot. Heck, Elizabeta applauded him as he dusted off his hands and laughed with a voice that creeped him out.

"I could handle myself, you know." Charice blinked.

"I know." He sighed. "I just wanted to crush Francis's head in today."

"Oh…oh, that's fine."

"Thank you." He rolled his eyes. "You violated in any way?"

"No…" She shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"All right." Rizal looked around. "You waiting for someone?"

"Not really. A few of these guys are a little intimidating." Charice laughed. "Though I have to admit that Alfred's doing well."

"Well…someone has to be." If Charice had to handle with any one of their previous captors, he was most willing with Alfred. At least he was the one who gave them independence. "The others?"

"I met the Italy siblings~! They're so _**cute~!**__**"**_

"Not surprised." Rizal smiled. "Do you even know how to navigate the school?"

"…"

"Thought so." He laughed. "It's not that big."

"_Yes it is…"_ Charice sighed. "It's really big!"

He stared at her like she had two heads or something. Then again, this is Charice. She might as well have two heads. It'd probably make her smarter. That was about when she got her attention taken away and had turned to see the blond guy walking into the school. He instantly recognized him.

"_Holy crap, that is a really scary guy…" _ She mumbled.

"He's not that scary." Rizal stated. "It's Germany…hangs out with one of the Italians? I thought you knew this."

"_I never saw him around that time…"_

"You have nothing to worry about, da? He's a nice guy~"

Charice screamed as Ivan randomly appeared out of nowhere and waved hello to the pretty people. Rizal couldn't help but laugh as she crawled behind his brother for protection. He turned to her.

"Oh, this is Ivan. He's a nice guy, don't worry about him."

"…_Russia, right?"_

"Da." He waved again. "You must be Charice. Rizal speaks of good things about you."

"_Oh really…?"_

"Da. Do you want to be one with me?"

"_**NO."**_

"Ahahaha…so protective, Rizal."

"I'm just saying." He growled.

Unknown to Charice, his eyes almost flashed red. Ivan took this as a sign to step back: he knew when Rizal was going to snap. Just then, he turned around and saw that Charice had gotten distracted by what looked like an Italian. He stared at the man in confusion before turning back.

"That's Feliciano Vargas. The northern part of Italy."

"So he's half a country."

"Just like you, da?"

"…yeah, I guess." Rizal shrugged. "Only more defined."

"You say more defined like you're some kind of monster."

"Well…maybe I am."

"I know what a monster looks like, Rizal. You are not one of them." Ivan smiled. "You're…more of a lost soul than an actual monster."

"…you saw the true me, though. And you have the nerve to say otherwise."

"A monster is one that does not show control. If you were a monster, I should be dead…or wounded, since you can not kill me."

"You're rubbing it in, aren't you?"

"Of course. Which is why you should be one with me, da? So that I can correct your path?"

"Um…no."

Ivan could only laugh at Rizal's reaction…a quite normal one, really. Rizal could only swing his yo-yo around and try to ignore the strange laugh coming out of the Russian's tongue. For some reason, he was the only one able to do so. Some of the African countries were moving away in fear at the sound of the laugh.

**/=+=/**

**I go on a daily basis here for each chapter, and hence these chapters are going to be small. Besides, everyone wants to see the other victims / users, right? Of course, of course.**


	7. Another Victim is Struck

**So who wants to see the next victim? Anyone? Yes? Totally. Yaaay~**

**And by the way…no UsUk, but guess what this has instead?**

**/=+=/**

Rizal woke up with a sharp pain to his shoulder, confused on what was going on. He stared at himself in the mirror, noticing in surprise that the mark on his shoulder was starting to glow a strange bright red. His muscles tensed _(and not because he's not used to the color red)_.

"…shit."

**/=+=/**

The minute Rizal was out the door, he slammed headfirst into Ivan. He didn't seemed shocked at the fact that he encountered a whole blash of Filipino, but instead was pointing to his shoulder. The Russian seemed to realize what he was talking about, and rubbed where his glyph was.

"It was starting to ache when I woke up this morning…" He stated. "Do you think it means…?"

"Maybe…but I'm not really sure." Rizal turned his head. "But will it indicate who's the target?"

"I'm not sure…I only know that it activates when the Shadows are on the move."

"Very accurate." Rizal shook his head. "I should be able to track where the Shadow is with mine."

"Are you going to talk to Gilbert about this?"

"Maybe…if he's willing to come along."

"You should talk to him about it. He's still scared of me, da?"

"How do you know that?"

"Everyone's scared of me, Rizal. I'm not dumb enough to not notice it."

"Ah…"

**/=+=/**

Class had started around afterward, hence Rizal couldn't see Gilbert until lunch time. Odd enough, he was in the same location that he was in when Rizal explained everything on what was going on. Without even thinking he plopped down next to him, surprised that Gilbert didn't bother to say anything about the sudden appearance.

"You need to tell me something?" He asked.

"There's a chance that the Shadow that kidnapped you is going to strike again." Rizal said bluntly. "And we have no idea who the victim is."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. And since you've seen the other world, you have just about the same power that we have." He stated.

"What are you saying?"

"On the off chance that we need a third guy to save their ass-"

"I'm in."

"Hm?"

"What, are you thinking that you're gonna scare me with demons? I've seen my own, you know…a rather awesome one at that, but that's not the point! I know what I'm dealing with and I can handle it!"

"Says who?"

"Says _**AWESOME!**__**"**_

_Oh, great…_ "Well, at least I don't have to spin around about five different reasons why you have to join…"

"Don't worry about me, man. I'm too awesome to die in that hellhole."

"Awesome." He can _**not**_ believe he said that. "All right, if that's the case…I want to teach you something."

"All right, shoot." He paused. "Is it perverted?"

"In your standards, no. In my standards…no. Anyway, remember when I talked about the glyph on your cheek?"

"Yeah, that thing. It comes and goes at will."

"I need you to will it out, and then try calling my name in your head. It's easier if you rub the glyph while you're doing it as well."

"…that sounds perverted."

"Your glyph is on your cheek. Mine's on my shoulder. Ivan's in his eyes. Tell me how that's perverted."

"Ah, so young…"

"?"

Gilbert didn't bother to go on and did as he was told: willing the glyph into being and then rubbing it with his finger. He noticed with surprise when Rizal took off his school jacket and revealed that his glyph was reacting to it, glowing a bright blue. For some reason, he stared at it.

"What the hell?"

"That's how me and Ivan keep in contact when we're separated. You just established a connection with me when you called me, noted here." Rizal pointed to his shoulder. "Basically, we do this to quickly gather together in case something comes up."

"And this _**works?"**_

"Ever since 1999."

"Huh…well that's a little stu-"

"Ahhhh…you're teaching him about our connection, da?"

"_**GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"**_

"Oh…Ivan." Rizal shook his head. "Well, Gilbert must've been thinking of you when he called me…at least you established a connection with him…"

"_I am not going to last…this is totally unawesome…"_

"Which was about the same reason why I asked if you want to tag along."

"…_I can totally survive this…kesesesesese…"_

Rizal tilted his head and shook it when his senses spiked. Gilbert could immediately tell by the look in his eyes: flashing from a dark yellow to almost a bright gold, nearing the point of it being inhuman. And not like he was trying anything but…was his skin starting to turn a bit darker?

"Something's on the move."

"I'll be here with Gilbert." Ivan lifted his hand. "You can go investigate."

"_**WHY YOU?"**_

"Would you rather prefer Natalya?"

That shut everyone up. Though…being in this situation, Rizal would actually prefer Natalya with him right now.

He jumped to his feet and dashed forward, grateful that the hallway was empty because of lunchtime. The Shadow was quick-moving, perhaps noting of the man chasing after it, and swerved around until they finally reached the windows. Rizal felt the Shadow head outside, and he looked down to see that Antonio and Lovino were down there picking tomatoes.

…_shit. I got distracted again._

"Yo, Rizal. You find the damn thing yet?"

He lifted his head up to see that Gilbert had chased him down, that annoying grin on his face. Rizal shook his head.

"Weren't you with Ivan?"

"He scared the crap out of me! I had to ditch!" He sighed. "So…where's the bitch?"

"It's nothing…false alarm. It was just an aura flux."

"Aura wha-? From who?"

"Him."

Gilbert looked down at where Rizal was pointing and found himself laughing so loud that the Filipino wondered why glass didn't shatter from the next building or two.

"From the idiot Italian guy, right?"

"No…from your friend there."

"Antonio? Really?"

"You, surprised? I thought you knew how much of a conquistador he was."

"I do, but…that's behind him now. Most of us don't conquer other people anymore."

"Well, when you lived in my shoes you can tell the difference in someone's thoughts." Rizal turned to him. "After three hundred years, I know everything about Antonio."

"You do…?"

"Yeah…that's why I can't ever forgive him for what he did to us…"

Gilbert blinked for a few minutes, his history running through his mind, when a shadow began to move. Gilbert and Rizal plastered themselves to the window as something from the tree moved toward Antonio and swarmed him. Gilbert froze and turned to Rizal in shock.

"You get down there. Any type of attack with that glyph of yours will force it back." Rizal turned to the window. "I'll call Ivan."

Gilbert said nothing, jumping out the window and punching the Shadow away. Rizal turned to see Ivan running toward him just as he heard a gasp from Antonio and the sound of a Shadow moving. Ivan and Rizal quickly jumped into the air and sliced through the Shadow, seeing it vanish into nothing.

"Shadow exterminated." Rizal licked his yo-yo.

"Are you all right, Antonio?" Gilbert looked at him.

"I'm fine." He answered. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, bastard!" Lovino spat. "What the _**fuck**_ is going-?"

A Shadow shot out of the ground and grabbed Lovino's arms and legs, dragging him into the abyss. Antonio started to scream bloody murder as Ivan skipped toward the portal and slammed his hands on it. Sure enough, the portal stayed open and a bright purple light open below them. Antonio turned to all of them.

"What…what happened…?"

"A Shadow got Lovino." Rizal bit the string of his yo-yo. "Dragged him inside."

"And…and you're just going to stand there…?"

Rizal said nothing, standing there and staring at the portal that was before them…anything to make sure that he wasn't looking in the bastard's eyes. He said nothing and threw himself into the portal _(much to Gilbert's dismay)_ and vanished into nothingness. Gilbert turned to Rizal.

"Rizal…!"

"We're going in and getting Lovino." He answered. "Don't worry."

"And Antonio…?"

"…if we see him, we'll get him too."

Gilbert didn't seem too thrilled about that but jumped in anyway. Rizal waited for a few minutes before walking forward, feeling a hand on his back. He turned his head and saw that Ivan was smiling.

"I'm glad that you're going through with this."

"Don't get me wrong. I don't give a crap about any of them. This is just because if I don't, a Shadow will be on the loose."

"Why do you blame Lovino? A son should never be blamed for what a father has done."

"Yeah…that's why I'm willing to go find Lovino."

"And Antonio?"

"…let's pray to God that we find him first."

"And if not?"

Rizal said nothing, instead finally jumping into the portal. Ivan shook his head and jumped in after him with another chuckle.

**/=+=/**

**That's right…SPAMANO!**


	8. Secrets?

**And the next victim is born. Maybe I'll add music. Maybe not.**

**/=+=/**

The minute Rizal landed, he found himself in 1920s attire. Gilbert was admiring his mafia attire as Ivan turned to the others wearing his Soviet suit. He had to admit that he was a little uncomfortable with seeing it, but compared to Gilbert it was oddly mild. Ivan could only laugh at the reaction before pointing forward.

"Is that where we're supposed to go, Rizal?"

"Yeah, looks like it." He stood up. "It's pulsing…"

"Sure looks like it, da?"

"How the hell are you guys figuring that out?"

They turned their heads and saw a rather surprised Gilbert staring at them. That's when they realized that this was Gilbert's first time in a Shadow's realm. Rizal pointed toward the path.

"Do you notice anything strange over there?" He asked. "Like a pulse in your glyph or a strange light?"

"No, not that I can see." Gilbert squinted. "Though…I can hear something that sounds like squishing footsteps if everyone shuts up…"

"Ne~~~Kaliningrad is learning fast, da?"

"_**Hey-"**_

"Ivan. Just call him Gilbert, all right?"

"…all right…just lead the way."

Gilbert froze at just how submissive he is to Rizal's statements. As they headed through the strange city, he ran up next to Rizal and saw as his gaze was consistent and frozen. He had seen him being serious before…not anything out of the ordinary. But still…this was getting a little creepy.

"Hey, Rizal. How in the world is Ivan listening to you?"

"Hm? He just does." Rizal stared at him. "I don't question it."

"You should! Ivan barely listens to people! He might just be using you!"

"Well…if he is, he had a lot of opportunities to take care of me." Rizal folded his arms. "And he didn't."

"Well…what's that about?"

"Um…hm…" Rizal smiled. "Let's just say that _**I know how to handle myself."**_

It was then that Gilbert dropped the subject. Rizal paused for a minute before Gilbert turned his head and saw a few Shadows rise up from the ground with long tongues and mafia rifles. Gilbert froze for a second as Rizal crouched down. He saw Ivan trotting up next to him with a giggle.

"So we fight now?"

"Yep…we fight now."

"_**HEY!**_ What do I do?"

"You're gonna know, Gilbert!" Rizal turned to him with a grin. "Trust me!"

Gilbert was about to question that when he saw a Shadow reaching out and screaming for an attack. He was about to shield himself when he heard a familiar scream of pain and a shadow casting over his eyes. He pried his eyelids open to see a familiar figure blocking one of the attacks with a pained look that hurt him right where his heart should've been.

"…I-Italy…?"

"…_**G-Gilbert…!"**_ He coughed up blood, but smiling at the same time. _**"Are you…alright?"**_

"What about you! You're hurt!"

"_**I'm…I'm not the real Feliciano…I'm fine…"**_ Feliciano smiled. _**"I can't be hurt…"**_

"…what…?"

"_**Look at me…it's going to be OK…I swear by it…please…?"**_

It was then that he turned and saw that there were two swords in his stomach, reaching out to him as if they were begging to be taken. Gilbert had no choice, he pulled the swords out of his body and held them in his hand, watching as the figure turned into a rather old man and a third sword, which he was all too willing to grasp in his mouth. Rizal watched as the two of them started dashing through everything in a strange sense of fury, almost as if he was trying to extract revenge. Ivan and Rizal opted to stay back and watched as he cut down all of them with his own hands. He turned with a grin.

"Take…that!" He yelled to them. "Too awesome for your tastes!"

"…sure, why not." Rizal shrugged. "At least you got rid of all the Shadows!"

"Eh?" He turned his head before laughing. _**"HELL YEAH **_I did!"

_Wow, he's an idiot._

Before they knew it, they heard a roar. They turned their heads before seeing that more Shadows have erupted from the ground, all calling for blood. The three of them jumped into the fray, but seeing that they were quickly getting outnumbered. Rizal knew that there was only one option they can do…

"Ivan! You're going to have to use that move of yours!"

"Ne~?" He smiled at him as he whacked away a Shadow with his hand. "But you know the consequences of me using it, da?"

"Of course I do! **But we don't have any time here!"**

"All right." Ivan pulled the pipe in front of his face before turning upward. "очистка"

The whole room was erupted with a bright light, blinding Gilbert for a few minutes before the light faded. He opened his eyes and saw that all of the Shadows had been eliminated, and Ivan had collapsed onto the ground. While he didn't want to do that, he took a deep breath and headed toward Ivan.

"Hey, Ivan." He walked just one step closer. "You…you OK, man?"

He didn't say anything, so much as moved, and as much as he didn't want to think about it…that worried him just a little bit. After a few minutes of silence, he heard slow shuffling. He turned his head and saw Rizal walking toward him with a limp, covering part of his face with his hand. He looked like a mess.

"Whoa…" Gilbert blinked. "The hell happened to you?"

"Couple of Shadows. They got me before Ivan cleared them." Rizal turned to Ivan's body. "Hey. Ivan. Get up."

"…ne, good morning~"

"_**HOLY FUCK!"**_

Gilbert flung himself back as Ivan turned to all of them with a smile and quietly went into a standing position. He didn't bother to say anything as he saw Rizal turn toward Ivan with a sigh even though his hand was covering his entire left side of his face, shaking his head.

"Could've done it sooner."

"But I didn't want to suffer another headache, da?"

"…fine." Rizal turned to Gilbert. "Do you have any bandages?"

"Eh? Uh…" He dug into his pocket. "Stole it from the nurse."

"Good enough."

Gilbert turned and saw as Rizal turned around and covered the burns with the bandages, and then going on to wrap around his leg. He leaned in with curiosity and could've sworn that he didn't see any type of meat on his bones…

"Ne, are you OK?"

"_**GAH!"**_ Gilbert jumped away. "H-hell yeah I am! The Shadows didn't so shit on me!"

"Which means you got lucky." Rizal turned them, still having that limp on him. "Now you know what happens when you get cocky."

"…yeah…just lead the way."

"Fine."

Rizal gestured for Ivan to go first and for Gilbert to follow him, and he had to do so. Throughout the whole thing, Gilbert couldn't help but turn back to Rizal, who was rubbing the burn on his face. He turned his head back to Ivan with one thing in mind: if he knew anything about this Filipino, it's that he's **never** cocky about anything.

"Hey, Ivan…about what you did back there…"

"Oh, Purification?" Ivan turned to Gilbert. "It basically concentrates all the magic that I have in my body and destroys all the Shadows in the area."

"Oh…and you don't use it often?"

"It makes me very dizzy, and if any Shadows are around they are free to attack me."

"Huh…"

Gilbert knew that this is total bullshit, but he knew that there was nothing he could do to get any information out of him. All he could gather was that these two were hiding something from him, and whatever it is could threaten what was going on. But then again, Shadows here are going to kill him, so what else is new?

**/=+=/**

**Gilbert – "Ramuh"**

"**Очистка****" **– **Purification**

**You're going to figure out what that is in…god knows how many chapters.**


	9. The Depths of His Rage

**So who are they going to find now? Hopefully it's Antonio, because Rizal is more than willing to leave him here if they find Lovino first.**

**/=+=/**

The Shadows were not as scary as they came out to be once Gilbert had three swords in his attire. At least he was getting extremely awesome. Rizal didn't really know what to think about it before he shook his head and headed further into the area trying to leave all of them. Unfortunately, they weren't going to be left together. No siree. Gilbert kept strolling onto his side.

"You going to be OK?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Rizal sighed. "I've been attacked like this before."

"But that's one of your eyes, man! That's unawesome to lose that!"

"I know, but still. This isn't the first time I've been attacked and lost something from myself."

"Really? Where're your scars?"

"They all healed. Apparently, none of them stayed." Rizal shook his head. "I don't worry about it."

"What heals all of them if not any of your abilities?" Gilbert was confused.

"…I don't know."

That was definitely another lie, but Rizal made it drop and hence Gilbert couldn't say anything about it. He turned his head and noticed that the boy was no longer walking on a limp. He couldn't help but wonder just what in the world was going on with Rizal. He found himself thinking the only thing that he could do to get this information…but he really didn't want to do it…

"…Ivan."

"Da?"

"What the heck is up with Rizal?"

"He's just been attacked by Shadows."

"Yeah, but…what's up with his recovery rate?" Gilbert looked back at him. "I've been a nation before and I've never gotten back from being bitten to death this quickly!"

"It's a user thing. I recover faster, and you will too over time."

"…fine…" _Geez, so much for a god-damn answer…_

They continued on for a few minutes, hearing the strange whimpers of a child echo through the alleyways. It was creepy in the long sense, but Gilbert was the only one getting creeped out. Rizal was rolling his head around as Ivan started laughing at the sound. Before he knew it, Rizal was reaching to the bandages around his eye and ripping it off. He turned his head, and for the quickest of seconds he could've sworn that his covered eye was glowing a bright gold.

"I found him."

**/=+=/**

Rizal's pace was getting faster and faster, forcing the both of them to keep up. His feet kept tapping faster and faster until they finally found their target: a man standing in the middle of an empty area looking at the fountain. Rizal had to spit in the dirt for that: it was Antonio, not saying a word.

"Oh…looks like we found Antonio first." Ivan laughed. "We're going to have to save him, Rizal."

"…god, why me?" Rizal rubbed his chin. "Nothing really goes my way, doesn't it?"

"Goes your wa-?" Gilbert stomped forward. "What the hell is wrong with you? He's a victim like Lovino, isn't he? Why aren't you showing him any respect?"

"Because you don't know Antonio the way I do. No one does." The Filipino spat. "No one knows him for the lying, twisted bastard that he is."

"But he hasn't done anything to you!"

"…not now. But he's planning on it…"

Gilbert stared at him in confusion, wondering on what the hell Rizal was talking about, when Antonio turned his head and faced the three of them. The Prussian flinched in shock: his eyes were glowing a bright gold, nothing like his usual green color, and the smile on his face was unlike anything he'd seen before.

"_**Ah, Rizal…I never thought I would see you again."**_

"…you know damn well that I would." Rizal lifted up his yo-yo. "You're just hiding underneath whatever the hell you call your skin."

"_**True, true…sometimes I like to come out, you know."**_ The Shadow Antonio laughed. _**"You're the only one who knows the real me…you and your whore of a sister."**_

"She is not a whore!" Rizal spat. "She's better than you'll ever be!"

Gilbert froze at those words.

"_**Not a whore? Well, she must've been…she knew just what to do so that I would keep coming back."**_ The Shadow laughed again. _**"Then again, real whores wouldn't have skin that soft, wouldn't they?"**_

That made him snap. Rizal charged forward screaming the entire way, his yo-yo fusing into his blade. The Shadow kept dodging all of the attacks, laughing like he would normally do, all while Gilbert stood there in confusion and darted his head toward a rather blank-faced Ivan.

"Shouldn't we be doing something?"

"This is revenge, da? There's no reason to get in the middle."

"Revenge, on what? For taking over their oblivious little asses and abusing them like every single other nation did to a damn colony?"

"No…that would've been resolved already." Ivan smiled. "This is of Antonio taking away something rather precious from his sister."

"…you can't be serious."

"Yes, it is. Your friend isn't called a pedophile for nothing, da?"

Gilbert turned back to Rizal as his rage continued to fuel his attacks and he started to pound deep into the Shadow's body. The other man didn't respond to the pain, opting to laugh about it the entire time. Rizal was getting even angrier before Antonio leaned forward.

"_**Haven't you been taught to respect your masters?"**_

He reached out and grabbed Rizal's hair, startling the others. Before they knew it, Rizal had reverted to a twelve-year-old form, with long hair and a red commander's outfit. The Shadow only laughed as he transformed into his real form, dangling the Filipino by his hair. The figure had four arms, two of them holding the dangling boy as the other two slammed the floor.

"You…can't be serious." Gilbert blinked.

"Hm…Antonio's is worse than yours, da?" Ivan laughed. "That's strange to think."

"_**You're nothing but a servant to me…a lapdog, the man that gives me everything I need."**_

"Go to hell, you bastard!"

Gilbert watched in shock as Rizal's long hair turned into a silver chain, wrapping around his neck and keeping him in place. The two hands around him grabbed his limbs, chaining them as well until the man could no longer move. That's when the Shadow moved his head toward the other two.

"…this can't be Antonio."

"_**Oh, look at that. More colonies? That's just what I need!"**_

"I mean, I've seen him in battle before, but…"

"_**Become one with me and I promise you everything that you want in your lives…"**_

"That bastard up there can't be Antonio!"

"There are some things you never know about your friends." Ivan laughed. "He's just like me, da?"

**/=+=/**

**This is canon only to Rizal's story, not in Charice's…in fact, not even in the official non-Persona canon.**


	10. Fall and Rise of the Ashes

**Strange turn of events, huh? But then again, who really knows Antonio?**

**/~+~/**

Antonio's Shadow was really going on with them. Gilbert could barely dodge any of his attacks, and damaging him was a different story. Whenever he would slash into his skin, Rizal would scream in pain and the wounds would instantly heal. It was utterly horrible, as if no matter how they try to get the Shadow down, Rizal would be the one who suffers…

"This is going to be tricky, da?"

"No crap! And how come you're not worried about him? All we're doing is bashing Rizal's head in!"

"I would be, but I'm not. He told me he can handle himself and that we shouldn't worry."

"You are _**crazy…"**_

Before they knew it, Rizal started screaming in counter. Gilbert looked up as his wrists made the chains explode and slash through the Shadow with a simple swing of his yo-yo. Ivan could only chuckle as Rizal flipped over their heads and turned back to his normal form, landing on the ground without so much as any effort.

"…_what the hell…?"_

"Hm? What's wrong with you?" Rizal stood up.

"_**WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?"**_

"Finishing what Ivan should've been doing."

"Ne~~~It was Gilbert's fault."

"Fine, I'll give you that."

"_**Hey!**_ Don't blame me about this!"

The three of them looked up as the Shadow started to fumble around and tried his best to stand up to attack. At his shoulder was a glowing wound, and Ragnarok started to throb in Rizal's hand. He looked to Ivan and nodded, confusing the albino.

"W-what the hell is going on?"

"We can destroy the Shadow now." He answered. "Gilbert, you know Antonio well, right?"

"Hell yeah I do. I'm his freaking best friend."

"Then you'll need this."

Rizal tossed him the sword, freaking him out and barely missing the handle. Gilbert looked down at it, feeling a strange aura erupting, and noticing that _**yes,**_ this did feel a little weird to say the least. He looked up.

"What…is this?"

"That's my Persona…my real one." Rizal looked up. "That blade goes right into that wound over there. Stab it, and the Shadow will disintegrate into its human form."

"H-how the hell do I do that? This is totally unawesome!"

"It'll tell you."

"It'll _**what?"**_

"Me and Ivan are going to cover you, and that's when you move, got it?"

"U-uh…yeah, yeah yeah yeah! I'm awesome! I totally know what's going on!"

_Great…_

Rizal and Ivan quickly lunged forward, forcing Gilbert to swing like crazy after them. The two of them slashed away the arms heading toward Gilbert as strange words began to enter his head. He closed his eyes, letting the sword do its bidding on him.

"Liebe Seele, die angekettet durch Verwirrung ist ..."

_**I knew that Antonio was one to like a lot of colonies, but how in the world did it turn him into **__**this?**_

"Die Wolken werden gelöscht und der Weg wird gepflastert."

_**Maybe I should've seen it coming. With his Catholic blood, no wonder he started suffering from the pain...**_

"Am Ende frei von Angst und Zweifel zu gehen."

_**But it doesn't matter now...I can save him...**__**I CAN save him!**_

"Jetzt gehen!"

The blade pierced through the wound, and he could hear the Shadow scream in response and squirm to regain composure. Suddenly he heard the monster scream back in response, and Gilbert was thrown back into the wall. Rizal and Ivan turned back to him as he regained his composure.

"_**WHAT THE UNAWESOME HELL?**_ Was I supposed to stab him differently or something?"

"….no…" Rizal took the sword back. "It was supposed to work…"

"You know what that means, da?" Ivan chuckled. "That means that someone else is the key to his deepest fears."

"Say _**what?"**_

"Rizal?"

"What makes you think I'm the one that he's panicking about?" Rizal stared at the Russian. "You know how much he treated me and my sister like pure shit."

"Maybe that's the secret?"

"…you are horrible." Rizal sighed. _"Shit…"_

"Don't tell me you're not going to try to save him!" Gilbert screamed at him. "I don't know what the fuck he did to you back then, but all that's changed. He's no longer the kingdom that ran you over all these years! So stop angsting about it and _**save him!"**_

"…" He flipped the sword up. "I did say that if we found him first, we get him…cover me."

"Finally…"

Gilbert and Ivan ran forward and slashed through the tentacles as Rizal dashed through the darkness. What pissed him off was how slow he was running toward him. He had seen his speed before in this Shadow's lair; this was only a fraction of his speed. This is human speed!

Meanwhile, Rizal was dodging all of the attacks of the Shadow. They were all twice as strong than usual, seeing that the craters were completely deep and could be able to trip in. Not surprised at all, of course. Rizal jumped back and started climbing up his arm toward the shining hole in his arm.

"Mahal na kaluluwa na ay chained sa pamamagitan ng pagkalito..."

_**Why in the world am I trying to save him…?**_

"Ang mga ulap ay clear at path ang ay aspaltado."

_**He ruined my life…he destroyed her life…so how…?**_

"Maglakad sa dulo libreng ng takot at pagdududa."

_**How can she forgive him?**_

"Ngayon pumunta!"

Before the world, he stabbed the blade deep into the wound. The screams echoed throughout the hall as the body started to shine and then dissolve into nothing but shining white lights.

**/~+~/**

_The words that she used to describe Spain scared him to the very core. The very first time that he was curious about her was when she first walked into Jose Rizal's house, saying that she needed shelter from him. He was only a little boy, but just by looking at the beatings and scars on her body, he could feel a chill going down his spine. After she had seen her room, he had to sneak in after her._

"…_Philia?"_

"_Ah-!" She turned her head. "Oh…I didn't notice you."_

"_I just walked in, that's all." He answered. "Who are you hiding from…?"_

"_You never heard of him?"_

"…_I woke up a few months ago, when he found me." He answered again._

"_But you look like you're a few years old!"_

"_I'm only a few months old…" He was confused._

"_Oh…oh my! I see…so you're like me!" She clapped. "Thank goodness…here I thought I was alone in this world…"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You are like me: immortal and part of this land." She leaned to his level. "You know how I'm the Philippines? This country that you stand on?"_

"_Yes. Rizal tells me this all the time; he's trying to save it…you."_

"_Well, __you__ are the Philippines as well!" She chuckled. "You are my younger brother!"_

"…_I am the Philippines…" He looked down and thought for a while. Sometimes he would have a massive growth spurt whenever there was a successful rebellion. "I am the Philippines…"_

"_This may take time to let this sink into your mind…that's all right…I'm not going to blame you." She smiled. "I won't let you come with me when I leave. You're free to stay with Rizal when I do."_

"…_who are you hiding from…? You didn't answer me."_

"_He's…he's a demon…he's been harsh to all of our people…killed them if they rebelled." She turned her head. "His eyes glow when he's happy…this sickening smile added on…"_

_The only thing that her description was making was that of a man as pale as a sickly old sage with the days adding up to his demise, eyes shining with gold and the smile that was filled with blood. He had to be a cannibal of some sorts…a demon cannibal…which meant that he must also be able to deceive and seduce. No one could escape…_

"_Your arm is…?"_

"_Oh…this…" She held her left arm. "This is what he did to me when I rebelled against him…the only time I could…"_

_What kind of sick man would harm a girl that barely looked eight years old with a weapon that could cut that deep? He could see the twitching fingers that were on the failing left arm and felt fresh fear run through his veins. What in the world could possibly do something like this to her? And did he like it? For all he knew, he was licking the blood off the blade._

_It was an image that he had kept in his mind, and it would stay there ever since._

…

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"You…you're scared of me…?"

"I was a little boy being told a scary ghost story about a man that she feared…of course I would be scared…"

"And now…?"

"…I won't lie and say that I hadn't completely let it go. However, that still doesn't mean that I can fully trust you."

"…I'm not expecting you to…you'll never trust me…"

"…probably not…but that doesn't mean I hate you."

"Fear leads to hatred. I know, I know…but to hear those words from you…I thank you…"

"Don't get mushy. Now hurry up and stand. Your best friend is worried for you just outside."

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**/~+~/**

The lights faded, revealing that Antonio and a bright light had been left of the Shadow. Gilbert and Ivan watched as Rizal landed in front of them, feet lightly gracing the tiles, before walking forward and maintaining a rather wary distance between the both of them.

"Antonio."

"…Rizal…" The Spaniard looked away. "You are…still here?"

"We're here to save Lovino. You just happened to fall in after him." He answered. "Something we have to get along the way."

"Heh…I was expecting that kind of cruelty from you…I expect nothing less from the man I suppressed…"

Rizal could only nod as Gilbert ran to his friend's side, slowly rising him to his feet and revealing that the battle had left him with plenty of scars all over his body. The Prussian froze as he pulled the sleeve down on his wrist, revealing strange scars of their own…across the wrist…

"You're cutting, man? That's so unawesome!"

"…it was an old habit…a long time ago." Antonio gently pulled his hand back. "I stopped, really."

_**["Well, you better have! Or else I would really be mad, you bastard!"]**_

They all turned their heads to see that the orb of light had started to take a form, aging from a girl in a dress to that of a man wearing an outfit similar to Antonio's. His eyes opened up to reveal green irises staring back into the Spaniard, and he didn't look happy.

"…Lovi-chan…?"

_**["Damn right, you pedo freak! What else could it be? Or have you lost so much blood that your brain cells stopped working?"]**_

"…I'm sorry…it's just that after my kingdom had to condense, I finally realized…the pain I caused. There was no other way-"

_**["There will **__**ALWAYS**__** be another way."]**_ He had grabbed his collar. _**["Do you hear me? There will always be another way."]**_

"…thank you, Lovino."

The image couldn't help but smile at that as he kissed his cheek, turning into a brightly colored bird with feathers as bright as the morning sunrise. Antonio smiled as the bird flew into his body, healing all of the scars that had appeared with it. He turned to the others and saw a rather confused Gilbert.

"…what the hell just happened?"

"Wish I knew~" Antonio laughed. "You know, Ivan?"

"You opened yourself~" He answered. "But let's not explain now. We have someone else to save."

"…Lovino, right." He nodded. "We have to…we have to save him."

"We're doing so right now." Rizal was already ahead. "Now if we can all stop talking, we can move ahead."

**/=+=/**

**Antonio = ****Phoenix****, the Immortal Bird**


	11. Bridging Point

**Will the tension between Rizal and Antonio ever stop? Who knows? It's his story after all.**

**/~+~/**

It was all so new and strange to the both of them as they continued on. Antonio and Gilbert were talking about the Shadows that they were attacking as the four of them continued through the area. Rizal and Antonio didn't talk the entire time, the latter only allowing the former to lead the way in the quickened pace of his.

"Do you know where Lovino is, Rizal?"

"Of course I do. Now shut up and let me focus."

"All right…"

Gilbert glared at Rizal for a few minutes before turning back to Antonio, who seemed to be taking all this with that familiar smile on his face. He blinked and turned his head around before looking back at the sad Spaniard who was now walking at a quicker pace.

"Why the hell are you taking up all this abuse, man?" He spat. "You're not one to take bullshit from anyone."

"…because I deserve it, Gil." He answered with a sigh. "He deserves to hate me."

"Not really, man! I mean, he's an ass and you were his colonizer, but what's the point here?"

"I took his sister."

"Eh?"

"Didn't you hear me back there? I took her."

The only thing that could register in his head was the image of Antonio not being an oblivious asshole, but for being a child rapist. No wonder Rizal hated him this much. Ivan could only chuckle at the shock on both of their faces, making them cringe a little bit more.

"What's so funny?" Gilbert spat.

"Nothing out of the usual…it's just the fact that Rizal and Antonio are both Catholics and yet don't fully understand their faith, da?"

"What do you mean?"

"_**Do unto others as they would do unto you."**_ Ivan pointed up. "Antonio treated his family like garbage, so Rizal treats him like garbage. But repentance and forgiveness is that of the Catholic faith…it's the blood and bones of it, am I correct? So which rule would end up being right?"

"…Ivan."

"The world is filled with contradictions, da? You two follow two different sets of rules, and as a result both of you suffer."

Antonio forced himself to say nothing, instead walking forward and oddly understanding what Ivan was talking about. The area around them started getting cloudier and cloudier, to the point where Rizal had to stop for a minute and look around. He looked like an animal at that point.

"Someone's here."

"Eh?"

Gunshots rang out, and they all jumped back at the sound. They looked up and saw a man standing just a few feet away from them, dressed up in a black suit and with a hat on his head, smoking and wielding the biggest ass gun Gilbert had ever seen. Through the frightened images, he did look oddly familiar…

"…Lovino…" Antonio gasped.

"_**The hell are you doing here?"**_ The image spat. _**"This is my territory."**_

"Since when?" Rizal asked.

"_**Since forever, bastard! This land is my home, my territory, my bubble."**_ He sounded like a mafia boss. _**"What makes you think you can just waltz around and not get noticed?"**_

"We're actually after you." Ivan smiled. "We're here to take you with us."

"_**What, you want me to abandon everything I gained just for the sake of being around a waste of energy? Forget it."**_ He aimed the gun at them. _**"I walk alone."**_

"So much for that." Rizal sighed.

The four of them jumped away from the gun barrage, bullets and gunpowder rampant all over the air. Antonio was the most shocked; since when was Lovino so…dangerous? Even when he declared independence from him, he himself didn't fight the war…none of them did.

"Antonio, get your head in the game!" Rizal screamed. "What, you give up already?"

He shook his head. He couldn't fight Lovino! Besides, what weapon does he have to do so? He looked up in shock as Lovino lunged forward to hit him with the blunt force of the gun when he heard someone catching the butt with his hands.

"…w-wha…?"

"_**Pay attention, dumbass."**_

"…Lovino? But you're…"

"_**He's the real one; I'm not! Get it in your head!"**_ The image turned back to the Shadow. _**"Dumbass."**_

The poor guy clearly didn't get it. After a few minutes, he realized with shock that there was a handle coming out of his back. It looked oddly familiar for some reason.

"_**Hey! You going to get this or what?"**_

"H-huh?"

"_**What, are you planning on fighting me with your bare hands? I'm not gonna get hurt by this, bastard!"**_

Antonio blinked for a few minutes before taking a deep breath and pulling the hilt out of the body, staring at the huge axe that formed underneath his fingertips. He couldn't help but feel the familiar pulse radiating from it: it was his trusty axe…the real one. He turned his head and saw the image he pulled it out of turn into this beautiful phoenix, screaming as he started a trail of fire that had knocked the fire away. The Shadow looked up from its shades as Antonio lifted his blade in the air.

"You…how dare you target my precious Lovino like he was just a toy for you to play with…even taking his perfect image…" Antonio looked up, the phoenix behind him and almost making him immortal. "As the man who stands in front of you…I will make sure that you regret that decision…"


	12. Holding the Blade In Hand

**So now Spain's mad! How is the Shadow going to handle this? Well…**

**/=+=/**

Rizal had to facepalm as the Spaniard was sent flying across the yard. There was no way the man that had taken over him and his sister for so long should be this horrible in battle against one of his colonies. Ivan and Gilbert were too busy trying to fend off the millions of bullets to care.

"Are you even _**trying?"**_

"I am trying, Rizal! I wouldn't lack in skills when I'm trying to save mi amor~"

"_**Don't…call me that!"**_

With that, Antonio was thrown across the area and Rizal had to facepalm even more. At least by the look on Ivan's face, he was most definitely catching on to the rather lacking ability coming from Antonio. He rolled his eyes and motioned Ivan to charge forward.

"What are you going to do, Rizal?"

"…I'm going to make sure that Antonio gets the freaking picture."

"…don't be too strict on him. This _**is**_ his other half."

"Whatever works for him."

Rizal turned around and headed toward a charging Antonio as he ran forward and continued his charge on Lovino's Shadow, only avoiding major injury when Gilbert threw his third blade into the gun, causing it to explode. The Shadow Lovino did not look pleased at all. In fact, he threw his other gun on the ground and let it fuse into the pavement, turning into a gigantic tank monster thing that was armed to the top with gun barrels. Gilbert was not pleased.

"Um…this is totally unawesome!" He pointed at it. "What the hell can we do with this?"

"We can't do anything, da?" Ivan smiled. "All we can do is stall. The only one who can truly defeat him is Antonio."

"Anto-?"

The Spaniard was thrown out of the way again, smacking headfirst into the ground. Rizal only sighed and rolled his eyes, summoning Alexander and turning him into a tank as well, and soon an entire shoot out commenced. Poor Gilbert and Ivan were stuck trying to use their Personas to shoot all the guns down. Antonio started to move up, ready to attack again.

"Your attack isn't going to work, you know."

He turned to Rizal.

"All the guns are aimed at every weak point that I have. You go out there and you're going to get completely murdered without throwing up a fight."

"What are you saying?" Antonio was getting mad. "Are you saying that I can't do anything to save Lovino?"

"Oh, so now you're finally grasping the severity of this situation? Here I thought you were a complete slacker who couldn't figure out what the hell is going on!"

"Don't you lecture to me, Rizal! I know full well what is going on with my Lovi!"

"Then why the hell were you half-assing out there?"

He froze.

"Oh, I know you, Antonio. I know how you fight. I know when you're throwing everything you got at a target. You're not even _**trying**_ with Lovino over there. What, are you afraid that you're going to leave a scratch on someone that you love dearly?"

"No!"

"Well, wake up! Empires strike against colonies to keep them in order! He's a colony going awry! Smack him in the face, get him back into shape!"

"I will _**not**_ lay a hand on Lovino! Even if he is a colony of mine, I would never hurt him!"

"So let me get this straight: you won't hurt him because he's your precious colony? _**What the **__**hell**__** were me and my sister then, huh? What the **__**hell**__** were we?"**_

Antonio was taken aback as Gilbert was shot down. Ivan looked at the both of them as he ran to Gilbert.

"Calm yourself, you two. You both know who's the only one who can calm down Lovino's Shadow and stop all of these problems."

The two of them paused for a minute as Ivan went to tend Gilbert's wounds without touching him _(the last time he did that, he coughed blood)_. Antonio stared at him for a few minutes before looking back to a raging Lovino. He realized that he was crying, and he was looking at Antonio.

"_Geez, I can't believe that I have to do this…"_

"What do I have to do…? What can I do to save Lovino?"

"Do you even know what the problem is? Do you even know why Lovino has so much rage inside him? Or are you just as dense as the rest of us?"

"…no…no, I don't…"

"You don't see it. You seriously have no idea what's wrong with Lovino? Antonio, if you don't know what it is now, then we'll never get him down!"

A shot rang out, and Rizal was knocked down. Antonio turned his head and saw Rizal hold onto his shot leg and a bright sword in the other hand. He turned around and looked back at Lovino, realizing that he was mouthing something underneath his breath. He squinted and tried to read it.

"…non sono…una…medaglia d'argento." _I am not…a silver medal?_ "Why is Lovino thinking…that he's…so useless?"

"Keep going, Antonio! Figure it out yourself and then you'll see what to do!"

His head started to reel around, trying to figure out what Rizal was talking about. Suddenly, his head looked up and tried his best to understand: he had showered Lovino with all the love in the world, all that he could have. But what did the other nations do to him…?

"…they…ignored him…? They ignored my Lovino…?"

It was then that he saw it, a bright light glowing in Lovino's chest and in the middle of the tank. He stared at it as the others continued to shoot at it, and Rizal knew that he had gotten it.

"Now you know what to do."

"…what should I do?"

"…take Ragnarok." He lifted his blade to him. "And aim."

"A-at Lovino?"

"Using this blade is the only way to get rid of the Shadow constricting the body. None of us are powerful enough to get through the confines…you're the only one who can do it."

"…all right." He took the blade. "I won't disappoint Lovino."

He went back a few minutes before he charged forward, lunging forward and feeling the wings of the phoenix grabbing him and lunging him forward. Meanwhile, he could hear Rizal joining the others in massive gunfire and he knew that he was safe.

"Querida alma que está encadenado por la confusión ..."

_I know I have done so much wrong…but it was all for him._

"Las nubes se borrará y el camino será pavimentado."

_The world was going to come after you…and I knew that I…I had to at least make you stronger…_

"Caminar hasta el extremo libre del temor y la duda."

_So why can't you see that?_

"Ahora!"

He started screaming, charging the blade right through the Shadow's chest. All of the tanks disappeared; that was allowing Rizal and the others to charge the rest of Lovino's Shadow and slash through them like hot knives. But it wasn't going to end there, for soon a huge wave of Shadows reached around them.

"Jesus!" Gilbert started swinging around. "How bad is Lovino, anyway?"

"What do I do, Rizal?" Antonio called.

"_**Just keep going! Don't let go of the blade!**__ I can't believe I have to do this…"_ He turned to Ivan. "Ivan! Do it!"

"But you're right next to me!"

"It doesn't matter where I am! Everyone's going to die here if we don't get rid of all of them!"

Ivan nodded _(albeit hesitantly)_ before he took a deep breath, holding his hands together.

"очистка"

Gilbert looked up and saw the bright light blinding everyone in the room and forcing the blade deeper into Lovino's chest. The Shadows were immediately vaporized and soon the light faded away with the rest of the mind demons.

**/~+~/**

_It pained him every time he had to leave Lovino behind. It pained him knowing that Lovino was going to have to learn how to take care of himself when he was away. But he knew what he was doing. As the ship pulled away from harbor, he knew what he was doing: he was going to become stronger. And though them, he was going to let Lovino get stronger. That was the plan._

_**I have to get stronger…so that I can be on par with the British Empire…and that bastard England.**__ He thought. __**Yeah, I can stick it to him that way…all while teaching Lovino how to be just like me…a strong nation…one who can protect himself…and maybe even me one day.**_

_He looked up and thought about it. Could Lovino really turn into an empire with his brother? Could he really bring himself to allow him to take over his land if the time came for it? He couldn't help but smile at that thought: maybe it would allow him to live with Lovino…_

"_Sir, where are we heading?"_

"_To our next colony." He answered._

"_Where, sir?"_

"…_the Philippines."_

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"You…"

"You were going to be a strong nation, one day. Whether it was you alone or with your brother…the nation would stand strong."

"That's why…that's why you went around and became so strong…"

"I had a goal set in mind, and with that goal I strove to conquer the world. Though after that, I forgot that every goal has their consequences…"

"Is that why you let me go when I said I was going to be independent…?"

"You were already a strong man…I knew that you were ready to take on the challenge. You can't be under my wing forever, no matter how long I wanted it."

"…what…?"

"Let us talk some other time…we have a place to return to."

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…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

**/~+~/**

Antonio withdrew the blade, seeing it vanish in midair and seeing Lovino on his knees in front of him, holding his chest as if he felt that it was going to explode. He wanted nothing more than to lean forward and hug him, to tell him that it was all going to be OK. But before he did that, he felt Ivan's hand hold onto his shoulder.

"You're going to have to hide now, da?"

"W-what are you-?"

Before he knew it, he was being flung so that he was hiding behind Ivan's back. Gilbert questioned that for a minute before seeing that Lovino's glowing chest separated from him, floating away from him before turning into a familiar shape. Lovino turned to it and saw a smile on the figure's face.

"…Antonio…?"

_**["Look at how much you've grown."]**_

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm a freaking wreck! I haven't grown at all!"

_**["No? Wasn't it so long ago that I was able to hold you in my arms and tell you that it's going to be all right?"]**_

"Don't you already do that…bastard?"

_**["You're crying."]**_

"No I'm not!"

_**["Don't worry. Boss is here to wipe the tears away."]**_

"Antonio…"

_**["I'm so proud of you, Lovino. Never forget that."]**_

He kissed Lovino on both his legs _(making the real Antonio rather jealous and Lovino as red faced as ever)_ before transforming into a yellow phoenix, the fires vanishing and turning into wind. Lovino stood up and reached his hands out, seeing the bird land into his hands before sinking into his body, embedding his legs with bright green glyphs. He turned his head around and saw the real Antonio staring back at him, smiling and holding his hands out.

"He may not be the real one…but he wasn't lying."

"…_you bastard."_

He charged forward and jumped into Antonio's arms, making Gilbert shed a small tear. It was then that he realized something weird in the room. There were no Shadows, of course, but…_where the hell did Rizal go?_ Ivan seemed to catch on rather early, and his eyes had turned toward a strange sight.

"Oh…"

"Hey…where's Rizal?" Antonio looked up.

"What, that duck egg bastard's here?" Lovino looked around. "I don't see him."

"Hey…" Gilbert blinked. "Isn't that his sun pin?"

Everyone turned their heads and saw it lying down on the ground exactly where he was last time. Gilbert was about to say something when he saw him walk toward it in the Shadows, holding his side and picking it up like it was no big deal. Lovino had to laugh.

"Geez, look at you without the pin. You look uglier without it."

"Ha ha. Laugh all you want. We just saved your ass." Rizal pinned it back into place. "Now let's just get out of here."


	13. Informing The Public

**I know. I updated. That's freaking insane.**

**/=+=/**

Rizal was the first person out of the portal, and was rather surprised to see that Natalya was standing in front of him. She wasn't looking at him; instead she was looking at the portal that he had climbed out of.

"You're here."

"Yes I am. I heard the call again." She answered. "So they're back."

"I'm afraid they are." Rizal nodded. "We've already gotten victims."

"I see. How many?"

"Two. One asshole decided to jump after him."

"I see. How about-?"

"Ivan's fine. He's pushing everyone out as we speak."

"I see."

"Is that _**all**_ you're going to say?"

"No. I want to relay a message to him…_**and only him."**_

"Oh…well, he's going to take-"

"_**OW, SON OF A BITCH! STOP PUSHING ME THROUGH!"**_

"_**You're going to have to go through soon, Lovino. You're blocking the way~"**_

"_**DAMMIT YOU RUSSIAN BASTARD!"**_

***push***

***crash***

"…now."

"Thank you."

Lovino looked up from his position to see Natalya staring back at him, making him whimper and crawl away _(behind Rizal, but let's not tell him yet)_. Everyone else started pouring out of the portal, Ivan being last, so no one could warn him of the fact that his stalker sister was standing in front of him.

"Eh? _**Uwa!"**_

"Big brother…I have a message for you…"

"_**I told you, I'm not going to marry you!"**_

"It's from big sister."

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Eh?"

"She says that the others have gotten the message as well."

"The message…"

"The Shadows are back, aren't they?"

"…yes, Natalya. They are."

"…as I feared. Here I thought we got rid of the threat a long time ago."

"Natalya…"

"Fine. I'll relay the message to everyone else." She sighed. "I follow your orders, of course."

Rizal watched her as she walked away, and then turned around to leave. Gilbert could only stand up and watch him leave, and started to try calling after him, but then again Rizal was already far away.

_Man, he's a prick._

**/=+=/**

He knew that he should've stayed and helped the others, but he also trusted Ivan to tell the other two on the Shadow world. Besides, he had class in ten minutes on the other side of the campus. As he rounded the corner, he noticed that Toris was waiting for him. They didn't lose any of their stride as they headed to class.

"Natalya told us everything." He stated. "Are the Shadows…?"

"Yeah, they're back." Rizal answered. "They already got a few victims."

"Were you able to save them?"

"Yeah, and they got summons too." He smiled. "That means that you don't have to get involved."

"Are you sure?"

"Ivan might want to shove you into it, if he wants to. But I think we'll be OK."

"Wow…Shadows are coming back…" Toris shook his head. "I never wanted to deal with it again."

"I'm not going to ask you to join us in Shadow hunting. I _**am**_ going to ask you to bring the rest of the family together and make sure to get rid of any that leak into this world."

"I…I think I can do that."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I can. Don't worry about it."

"All right. Tell the others."

"But they're in class."

"…I mean after."

"Right, right."

Toris headed off, leaving Rizal alone to sigh and walk away, a thousand things going through his brain. The Shadows were never this crazy and rabid, taking their prey in the waking world. The last time that happened, Ivan was handling America in the Cold War. And even then, they never went after nations…

"Rizal?"

He turned his head and noticed that Erika was standing there, holding onto her books and clearly not in class. Then again, don't they have the same class? He blinked for a few minutes in confusion.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Aren't _**you?"**_

"I had things to do…" Rizal rubbed the back of his head. "You?"

"I was doing a study session with my brother." She responded. "You want to walk to class together?"

"Huh?" He never heard that before. "Um…sure, I guess?"

Erika quietly trotted alongside him, and the both of them started walking toward their class. Rizal couldn't help but look around _("where was Vash, anyway?")_ before turning to Erika as she was shuffling her books around, the ones she needed on the top.

"Huh."

"What's wrong?"

"Why are you wearing a boy's uniform? Last time I checked, you actually look like a woman."

"Well, the school ran out of them."

…

…

…

…

…

…

"The _**school**_…ran out of girl's uniforms."

"They weren't expecting that many girl nations. Remember that humans were making these."

"Oh…right." Rizal rubbed the back of his head. "Humans that knew about us?"

"I don't think so. Otherwise they would've made more girl uniforms."

"…all right."

They fell back into awkward silence again as they headed to class, and he couldn't help but wonder if hanging out with his obnoxious older sister was the reason why he couldn't talk to _**normal**_ women. Maybe he should think about something else.

**sO tHe DeMoNs HaVe ReTuRnEd.**

He sighed.

_Not you again. I thought I got rid of you._

**YoU wIlL nEvEr GeT rId Of Me.**

_No, but I can make you shut up._

He quietly rubbed the glyph on his shoulder, and after a few seconds the voice no longer bothered him, leaving the Filipino alone again with his thoughts. He couldn't help but be grateful for Alexander, the Persona he obtained. God knows what would've happened if this voice came to him and he wasn't prepared to fight back. But that's another thought.

_I still have class to handle…and the infamous "math test"._

**/=+=/**

**Yes, irony is ironic.**


	14. Old Times VS New Teams

**to/=+=/**

The next day had the poor Filipino having to hunt down his sister yet again. There were rumors going around that she had been chasing down Italy again, and by the sound of screaming down the hallways…

"_**UWAAAAAAAAAAA! SOMEONE HELP MEEEEEEEEE!"**_

Yep, those were true.

He quietly stuck his arm out, feeling a huge gust of wind before a light tap on his forearm. Rizal stepped forward and saw that Feliciano had just breaked fast enough to not go hurtling into his arm. He had to admit that was quite a feat.

"_H-hide me…"_

"Just hide behind me."

"_T-thank you…"_

Feliciano quietly trotted behind him and clung onto his jacket, seeing that Rizal had just pulled out a book and had started reading it. Five seconds, a huge burst of air shot down the hallway, knocking down everything that was in its way. Nothing happened for a few seconds before the Filipino closed his book.

"You're safe now."

"_T-thank you…"_

The Italian quietly ran in the opposite direction, leaving Rizal to head further down the hallway while reading the book. Five more seconds afterward, the huge burst of air shot down in the opposite direction, forcing Rizal to fix his hair for a few seconds before continuing down the school.

"_**UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"**_

"_Oh geez…"_

**/=+=/**

"Oi, duck bastard. I'm talking to you right now."

Rizal looked up in confusion and saw Lovino standing over him, his arms folded and looking rather peeved. He closed the book he was holding and turned completely at him as the Italian dropped next to him.

"You need something?"

"I need answers."

"For what?"

"For my _**question."**_

"You didn't ask a question."

"You do know what I'm going to ask, bastard."

"It's either about yesterday or no, I don't have a clue."

"It _**is**_ about yesterday. What the fuck was that?"

"You mean the Shadows?" Rizal turned to Lovino all the way. "I thought Ivan told you all this."

"He told me jack shit."

"Well, so much for relying on him to talk." He sighed. "How about Gilbert?"

"He knew just about as much as I do."

"Hm…and he started before you too…oh well." Rizal folded his legs. "The other place that we were in trying to save you, we call it the negative dimension, where one person can shape it through their emotions. The stuff that you saw before, anything with golden eyes and was completely purple trying to kill you is known as a Shadow."

"Shadow of what?"

"The evils of humanity. And you know about them, right?"

"I know them all too well."

"Yeah. If a Shadow bites you, it temporarily shows you what kind of evil it represents. Any human would go insane from seeing it. Fortunately, they stay in that other world, whatever that place is. If I were to venture a guess, it's a dimension where good and evil have a physical form."

"Wait, what the heck is good then?"

"The ones we used. Were you able to see anything back in that realm?"

"I only remember that you were on top of a fucking mech."

"That is the embodiment of goodness that I have inside my soul. No one really knows what it's called, but I tend to call it a sol. Ivan and Gilbert also have that, and I think you and Antonio have it."

"Have what?"

"The truce between good and evil."

"Say what now?"

"Each person has a sol and a shadow in that other world. One is in conflict with the other due to the outpost of what society has inflicted on them. When they are finally able to coexist, a glyph forms on the body that symbolizes the pact. I have one on my shoulder, and if I'm right…"

"What are you- _**GET OFF ME!"**_

Lovino felt extremely violated as Rizal started pulling up sleeves trying to find whatever the hell it is. He was about to scream the r-word when Rizal finally found it: two tattoo-looking things that were on the shins of his legs.

"The fuck is that?"

"The pact between the sol and a shadow. It basically means on the off chance you go back to the negative dimension-"

"Fuck no."

"_-on the off chance…_then you could defend yourself and see the exit out."

"Well, that's good news."

"Yeah…and that way your boyfriend Antonio doesn't have to jump headfirst after you."

"_**HE IS NOT MY FUCKING BOYFRIEND!"**_

"Geez, Charice was right…you are really obvious."

"You jerk."

"You're a jerk too. But at least you're alive."

"Oh, hey, I just remembered something. Antonio wanted me to ask you this."

"Ask me what?" He was a little glad that he god Lovino to ask him instead of confronting him. He didn't want to see the Spaniard today.

"What the heck is up with that blade of yours? The one Antonio used to _**stab me in the shin."**_

"Oh, that. I'm not really sure. We only have one sol, so…"

"You're not telling me the entire truth, aren't you."

Rizal turned away, leaving Lovino to mumble about forcing the truth out of him. After a few minutes, the Italian turned his head and was about to shout out the truth when another burst of air shot past him. Rizal turned his head to see that no one was sitting next to him, and there was a scream moving away from him.

"_Good Christ…"_

**/=+=/**

"Ah, Rizal. I was looking for you."

He turned around to see Ivan standing there, smiling and holding a deck of cards in his hand. Behind him was a rather scared Irunya, wondering if she was going to have to access her sol again. He knew that she really wasn't fine with using it, especially since it made no sense to her…

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm planning on gathering the union together to make sure all of them are in the know."

"Right."

The union. He was clearly about the Soviet Union. He heard rumors that all of them had found their own sols during the Communist rule, but Ivan never really touched in on it. Instead, he quietly followed the Russian and Ukrainian to an empty room where everyone else was waiting. Natalya was sharpening her blades while the Baltic Trio was fidgeting around.

"This is everyone." Ivan nodded. "Perhaps you all know why you're all here."

"The Shadows are back…" Toris sighed.

"What? Does that mean we have to fight again?" Raivis shivered. "Nooo…I don't want to see another evil being anymore!"

"No one does." Rizal waved his hand. "Ivan, I think we're fine with who we got."

"Exactly. I'm showing them the new guys~"

"Say what now?"

Five minutes later, Antonio jumped into the room while pushing Lovino at the same time. Somehow Gilbert tumbled down with him, leaving three bodies on the floor. Even Rizal noticed that the Baltic Trio was facepalming.

"They have a sol too?" Eduard asked.

"Apparently." Natalya answered. "Not the best ones, but…"

"_**HEY! **_Don't tempt me!" Gilbert tore through the crowd. "My…whatever…is totally awesome!"

"You don't even know the name of it."

"Yeah, I do! It's Fritz, man!"

"…_**Fritz?"**_

"Old Man Fritz, I mean, you saw him, right? Beard and everything?" Gilbert grinned. "It's Fritz!"

"…no…a nation's sol is not a human being's sou- oh, never mind." Natalya turned away. "You're too dumb to figure it out."

"_**I am not-!"**_

Rizal watched quietly as the newcomers argued with the pros. Well, to be honest, Gilbert arguing with Natalya for no reason. He thought he was scared of that woman. Maybe it was because of his sol or something. Or maybe because it didn't register in his head yet.

"So these are the ones you were talking about?" Lovino pushed off the Spaniard.

"Yeah. These are the guys who've been fighting the Shadows long before any of us." Rizal pointed at all of them. "They were fighting with Ivan back in the day…whatever time that was."

"I think it was around the time Gilbert lived with us~" Ivan laughed.

"_**ARE YOU SERIOUS? DURING THAT CRAP HOUR?"**_ He glared at him. "No wonder you were too fucking powerful!"

"Hehehehehe…you're so funny, Kaliningrad~"

"_Oh shit…"_

Rizal sighed as a whole fight tore up, and he instead turned to the ones who were paying attention, namely Eduard and Irunya. They were too busy wondering if they could return back to their ordinary lives instead of having to go back into Shadow slaying. They were always the peaceful ones…

"OK, so what me and Ivan wanted to say was this." He cleared his throat. "We're planning on hardcoring these guys in Shadow slaying. If you guys want to join us to make sure they don't screw their job up, then that's fine. Otherwise, you can just leave them to us."

"We have faith in the two of you, Rizal." Irunya smiled. "You won't let them fall to the Shadows."

"Even though you know who he is?"

"I have faith, Eduard."

Rizal knew what they were talking about, but it was then that the fighting had stopped and Ivan had just cleared his throat in order for the others to listen up. Of course, everyone had faith in the new guys to battle Shadows _(seriously? They did? Even Rizal couldn't believe it)_. Maybe Gilbert was just that persuasive.

"So everyone's agreeing with the plan?" Ivan clapped his hands. "Natalya?"

"I want to fight alongside you."

"You have to be the leader of the containment unit on this plane." He instructed her. "You're the strongest fighter in this room, Natalya. If any Shadows pass our guard, you have to lead the others in the attack."

"…I understand, brother."

"Good." Ivan smiled. "So it's been settled then."

"I wish you guys could help us get used to our sol…" Antonio laughed. "But I guess no one wants to fight."

"We don't. Besides, our sol is pretty weak." Toris stated. "It depends on national strength, and we're talking about former kingdoms and G8 nations."

"I guess so." Antonio grinned. "We won't let you down."

"…che." Lovino sighed. "I'd rather never go back down there again."

"You'll still have to face the Shadows." Natalya stated. "They'll be around no matter how hard you deny it."

"_Shit."_

"The evil nature of the humans will always be around. And as long as you have a sol, you'll see it." Rizal nodded. "It's hard to live around them afterwards."

"Oh, that's just great."

Rizal shrugged, watching the crew of old and new argue amongst themselves as he stared outside the window of the room that he was in, seeing the sky fill up with clouds before the sun became completely covered with a slight cover of spring rain.

_The Shadows are starting to attack the nations instead of humans…_ He closed his eyes. _This is only the beginning, isn't it._

**YeS, oNlY tHe BeGiNnInG.**

**/=+=/**

**Like I said earlier, Charice and Rizal have different influences on the nations in terms of the beings that they summon in order to fight off the Shadows, which in both worlds are the representations of human evils. So what are the differences apart from names?**

**The Persona**** is what Charice releases from a nation. A Persona is basically the representation of the dark secrets, consisting of many questions answered by the one who is the source of the questions. For example, in Lovino's case, his question is "do I really need to exist?" When his question was answered, "yes, you need to", his Persona is then shaped to show that he wants to protect himself, set on speed and long-distance attacks = "Sandalphon", an angel who attacks from afar. Personas are based off of emotions, which is the clash of good and evil inside a human soul, and because of that they look more natural. The human-looking Personas have all of their secrets revealed and answered. The animal/monster looking ones still have questions to be asked. In a sense, a Persona's appearance can change over time, especially with a nation's lifespan.**

**The Sol**** is what Rizal releases from a nation. Unlike a Persona, which is a part of the human side, the sol is the representation of the nation's good side **_**(I mean, all the goodness)**_**. Like the Shadow, the Sol is pure light, but unfortunately, light and darkness cannot stand alone or else they will sin for their "benefit". Pure light will not know the darkness in any actions, and when light and darkness collide, emotions are born. In Lovino's case, his will is "I must get rid of those who are evil, so I can be a nation once more". Of course, it means that a Shadow and a sol have to stay in a body or else the soul inside is corrupted. Because of their simplicity, sols are more machine-like in their appearance, and rarely change what they look like.**

**In a sense, the sol is stronger than the persona, but that's just my logic. Which most people who only read Charice's story will never know. How weird.**


	15. Around the Audition Timezone

**/= [DAY 3] =/**

"Hey, Rizal. Can you help us?"

He turned around and noticed that Magnus was standing a few feet away, waving at him from afar. He barely recognized him as one of Ivan's few friends, and whoever was next to him didn't look all that amused at the guy that was there. He concluded that it was one of Magnus' friends.

"Sure. What's going on?"

"Me and Lukas need to move this to the auditorium. They're starting their audition for their fall musical."

"Oh, I heard about that. Ate told me about it." Rizal blinked. "Les Miserables, right?"

"Yeah, that one." The other man answered. He barely remembered that his name was Norway. "Magnus here keeps insisting on auditioning."

"Hey, I have a great singing voice!"

"Says you." Rizal lifted up the box. "Where am I putting this?"

"Just follow Berwald there."

The Filipino walked after the Swedish man just as there were people pouring into the auditorium. He could barely see Charice and Feliciano walking in from the back, chirping and talking so loud that Rizal could hear them from the other side of the auditorium. She was barely teetering to her Obsession mode. _God, they were loud._

"Oh yeah, Rizal!"

"Yeah?"

"We need someone to work with the lights for the auditions." Magnus grinned. "You want to do it?"

"I might as well…" He shrugged. It almost guarantees that he won't be forced into auditions. "I'll just test the buttons and whatever. Tell whoever's running this to tell me when they're ready."

"Can do~"

Rizal quickly hid himself in the shadows and snuck around the actor-wannabes toward the light stands. He sat behind the stand and couldn't help but stare at the millions of switches and buttons that were before him. While he tried to figure out what was safe to manipulate, he heard Francis start talking, mentioning something about how everyone should draw numbers to get the order of auditions. Maybe he'll figure out the machine…

"Rizal?"

"**Gah!"** He turned his head around to see a familiar face. "Oh…Ludwig…geez, here I thought you were someone else."

"Like who?"

"Someone who's…not…normal." He shrugged. "Like anyone else?"

"Rizal, I've been with these men a lot longer than you have been. I know for a fact that most of them are serious when they have to be-"

"_**Dammit, Alfred! Will you start to at least cooperate with us here?"**_

"_**I am, dude! I'm just making the audition more awesome than the rest of you!"**_

"_**BY BRINGING IN AUTO-TUNE?"**_

"_**Hey! Will you two release your sexual tension somewhere?"**_ Charice screamed out of nowhere. _**"And for the love of God, PLEASE DO SO IN FRONT OF US."**_

"_**WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!**__**"**_

…

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"Does this count?"

"_N-not in the least."_

"Yeah…" Rizal turned to him. "Are you auditioning?"

"Hm?" Ludwig looked at him. The lighting _(or the lack thereof)_ made shadows cross his face. He looked extremely handsome when that happened…

"…are…you…auditioning?" He pushed out of his mouth to make himself sound normal.

"Oh…yeah, unfortunately." The German sighed. "Feliciano and bruder kind of shoved me into it."

_Huh…I wonder what he would sound like when he sings?_ "OK, you see what you should have done? You should have avoided both of them until this day was done."

"I tried that…I even tried to get Matthew's help, since he's so good at hiding…" He sighed.

"…_**but**_…?"

"…I…I can't seem to find him."

There were not enough hands in the world to facepalm that statement.

"_B-but I'm right here…"_

"Did someone say something?"

"_I'm righ-"_

"_**AND **__**-!**__**"**_

"_**Wrong audition, dipshit!"**_

"**Hey!** No calling idiots dipshits, Lovino!"

"You can't tell me what to do, Frenchie!"

"_Oh shit…"_ Ludwig sighed. "Will you two stop it?"

"Just go." Rizal shooed him off. "They're only going to listen when you're up in their face about it."

"I might as well…"

Rizal turned in his seat and watched as Ludwig headed down the aisle to chew on the director, just as Alfred continued to sing whatever the hell he was singing at the time _(it was so butchered that Rizal had no idea what he was saying at the time)_. But apparently trying to blind him with bright lights was not helping at all.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"You need a hospital, Matthew?"

"_I…I just need to get out of the room…"_

**/=+=/**

Despite what he had thought, Matthew did a pretty good job singing a rather sorrowful version of "Empty Chairs" _(Charice shed some rather loud tears)_. And the fact that Ludwig had the deepest singing voice he had ever heard made his ears ring with shock when Rizal finally left the auditorium. From the corner of his eye, he could see Francis and Kiku talking to each other.

"So I guess we got our cast together, then." Kiku straightened the edges of the paper. "We have the usual?"

"Of course." Francis nodded. "We must definitely have him for Marius."

"Who?"

"Oh, um…" Francis rubbed his chin. "What was his name…? Was it Alfred?"

Rizal had to facepalm at that statement, quietly trying to pass them without being detected. Sometimes, he wonders if their stupidity over that great nation was legal ground for bullying. Unfortunately, his prayers were unanswered.

"Oh, Rizal! This is good timing on your behalf!"

_Fuck._ "Yeah?"

"Do you know that guy who was singing that one song about chairs?"

"A few of them were singing about chairs."

"Yes, but…" Francis shook his head. "You know…the one with the blond hair?"

"You mean Matthew, don't you."

"Matthew?"

"_**Canada."**_

"Oh…oh!" Francis clapped his hands together. "Right! Him! Now I remember!"

_Jesus._

"Thank you, Rizal! Now I know our perfect Marius!"

He could only roll his eyes as he headed to his dormitory for the night. After those auditions and hearing Gilbert screech out his lines, Rizal only needed a good night's sleep…and some acid to the brain. A lot will suffice.

**/= [DAY 4] =/**

**THE LIST OF CHARACTERS**

**[JEAN VALJEAN] – Roderich Edelstein**

**[FANTINE] – Elizabeta Hedervary**

**[COSETTE] – Feliciano Vargas**

**[JAVERT] – Ludwig Beillschmidt**

**[MARIUS] – Matthew Williams**

**[EPONINE] – Arthur Kirkland**

**[MR. THENARDIER] – Antonio Hernandez Corriedo**

**[MADAME THENARDIER] – Lovino Vargas**

**[ENJOLRAS] – Gilbert Beillschmidt**

**[GAVROCHE] – Yong Soo Im**

He was surprised that he saw this coming. He was never good with predicting cast members.

Rizal was the first person there when the cast listing came up. The fact that Ludwig was in the cast _(as a villain, no less)_ wasn't the most surprising thing that he saw: it was the fact that Matthew was in the cast. Like, at all. He was surprised that Francis remembered him long enough to write his name down on the paper.

"_I-I'm in the cast?"_

"Yeah. Marius, whoever he is." Rizal pointed at the list. "Do you know?"

"_No, not really…but I heard he's a rather important character."_

"It also means you have to speak up during the rehearsals."

"_B-but I can speak up!"_

"Matthew."

"_Eh?"_

"You're whispering right now."

"_Oh, right…um…_ how about now?"

…

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…

…

…

…

…

"Stick to whispering."


	16. Rehearsals and French People

**/= [DAY 4] =/**

Rizal had no idea what he was doing there. The rehearsal meant that people who acted were supposed to be there. Of course, it meant that he could walk away whenever he wanted to. He was here only because he was bored and wanted to watch someone else suck. He was most certainly not here because he wanted to hear Ludwig sing. Oh no, that was most certainly not here because of that.

It's because Ivan's here, and they were meeting afterward.

Yeah, totally that.

He sat in the back, near the light booths, as he watched Francis discuss the story about the musical and the other actors slowly falling asleep by the sheer history of it all. Rizal happened to have a script handy _(which he totally did NOT steal from Antonio)_ and a working lamp, so he was able to read the entire thing during the lecture. Going past the millions of music notes that he obviously couldn't read _(and that Charice CLEARLY stated that she could not read)_, the story seemed to be about redemption and love. Ludwig was supposedly playing the character that chased Roderich's character because he violated parole or something like that, and the chase goes on for twenty years.

**HaH, iF oNlY hE cHaSeD yOu LiKe ThAt FoR sO lOnG…**

_Look, you bastard. You're either threatening my life or making fun of me. You can't choose both and not at the same time._

Rizal rubbed his shoulder and the glyph, silencing the voice. He couldn't help but seriously wonder what his life would be like if he didn't have a sol to keep the voice down. God knows what would happen. Not like he was wrong, per say. There was another plot going on about two girls fawning over one guy, and he chooses the one he met a few seconds ago over the one that had known him for so long. Granted, he was French and therefore reasonable in making that choice, but…still, he couldn't help but wonder if he was in the exact same situation.

_NO. _

Bad thoughts.

Other than that, the singing was rather good for the show to have some warrant for people to go ahead and watch it. Roderich was rather good sounding as the old guy whose being chased by the devout Catholic _(though Ludwig's Protestant…huh)_, Elizabeta seemed beautiful playing the mother of Feliciano, and on closer inspection the father-daughter _(son?)_ relationship between Roderich and Feliciano is oddly believable. Maybe it's because he was the father…right? He wasn't even sure anymore.

Never mind. Everyone else was perfect. Arthur sounded pretty convincing as the poor little one left behind with his pining voice asking for love from…a Canadian, which is partially French and hence the theory still applies. And Matthew…oh dear god, _**Matthew**_. When people actually remembered him, his singing drove people to tears. Maybe that's why he always talks in whispers. Judging by the way that Charice is strangling him right now, the theory applies.

Rizal was getting bored. No one was doing anything interesting past the usual stuff, so he decided to go ahead and leave early. He quietly left the room and closed the door behind him, before heading out for a walk around the backyard that the school apparently had. Other than some obvious tomato plants that were near the building, he couldn't tell what any of the plants were. Maybe that was a good thing.

"Oh, Rizal!"

He turned his head and saw Erika walking toward him, a script in one hand and wearing a rather boyish outfit for a fourteen-year-old girl. Rizal turned around completely as she joined him for the stroll down the park pathways.

"No rehearsal for you today?"

"Kiku said that they only needed the guys today, so most of the girls headed out." Erika answered. "I saw you out here alone, so I thought I would give you company."

"Oh…thanks." He couldn't help but blush. No one actually did that for him. Except for Charice, but that's natural from siblings. "And Francis?"

"I'm not sure. I think Kiku dismissed him, but I was already out the door."

"Well then. I guess that means it's just the two of us here in this park."

"Yes it is."

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"So what's your role in the show?"

"I'm just a background person. They'll call on me if they need me." She answered simply. "But we have so many people on the cast that I'm probably not going to be called."

"I…I'm with you on that." Rizal did a quick headcount. "Lively cast, aren't they?"

"I'm surprised that so few girls actually made the main cast. I wonder why that is?"

"_Probably because Francis did the damn casting."_

"Did you say something?"

"No, of course not." Rizal answered with a quick huff. "I-I was just wondering it myself."

"Oh."

Another awkward silence descended on the both of them, leaving the Filipino to wonder if he should actually say something. After a few minutes, he remembered that he hadn't eaten anything for quite some time. He looked down at his stomach in confusion while he heard the girl next to him chuckle.

"Have you eaten anything yet?"

"Not really. Just had a hard day." He answered. "But I guess we can go ahead and eat. How about tomatoes?"

"Tomatoes?"

"_**DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE GOING AFTER **__**MY**__** TOMATOES, DAMMIT!"**_

"_Oh geez."_

Rizal shook his head and turned his head to see a really peeved Lovino staring at him as he folded his arms and stood between them and the tomato plants he and Antonio were growing. Erika was confused on what was going on, but Rizal waved it off and told her not to worry about it.

"Now why would we want something like that?"

"Because you wanted tomatoes."

"Lovino, I'm _**Rizal.**_ You know I hate anything European Spanish. We're talking about American tomatoes."

"Riiiiight…"

"You want me to get an American tomato just to prove my point?" He grinned. "What are you doing out of rehearsals, anyway?"

"They didn't need me, duh!"

"You're just saying that to get out of the dress."

"_**WE'RE NOT USING COSTUMES TODAY!"**_

"_Riiiight…"_

"You evil ass."

They were about to continue on their little tirade when they felt the ground shake from beneath them. Rizal and Lovino stared at each other in shock when they finally realized what was going on. Erika started screaming, and they turned their heads to realize that Shadows were charging toward them.

"Oh geez, are you _**serious?**__"_ Lovino spat. "We have to deal with them here now?"

"If you don't want to, you can leave this to me." Rizal looked at Erika. "Stay with Lovino."

Erika stared at him in confusion as the Filipino charged forward, slashing through all of them with nothing but a yo-yo and his legs. Lovino couldn't help but wonder why he preferred to kick a lot of the time if he was such a yo-yo nut.

"Whoa!" He kicked a Shadow out of the way. "Too close for comfort."

"Lovino, what are these things?"

"Um…bad things." He answered, kicking a few more out of the way. "Look, I have no details about this either, so-!"

"Watch out!"

Erika quickly grabbed Lovino's arm as another Shadow charged toward them. Suddenly, a huge ball of light started glowing from the both of them. Rizal noticed the light and turned around, realizing that something was going on.

"Don't activate your sols here!" He called. "Or else-!"

He paused, noticing that it was coming from Erika. Immediately, there was a green rabbit-being that erupted from her forehead that created another barrier throwing the Shadows at bay. Five seconds later, Rizal was kicking all of them out of the way. Finally, all of the Shadows vanished from the area, leaving the three of them alone. Rizal turned to Erika.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She answered. "What…what were those things?"

"Those were Shadows." Rizal sighed. "All you need to know is that they like taking human victims and that whatever you just did keeps them away."

"T-that thing that came out of my forehead?"

"Yeah…" Lovino stared at her. "Hey, I see the glyph on her forehead!"

"That's her sol…the whole barrier thing must be a representation of her connection with Switzerland…"

"Rizal…" Erika turned around in confusion. "Why did those things stop chasing after us?"

"Well…there's a chance that we got rid of all the Shadows." Rizal paused. "Unless…"

Rizal lifted up his finger in confusion before charging deep into the woods, forcing the other two to follow him. He was moving way too fast, almost as if he was looking for something specific, until they noticed a huge purple hole in the ground. Lovino tensed.

"What the hell is that?"

"It means that the Shadows already got a victim." Rizal sighed. "You two can go ahead and get the others. I'm going ahead."

"What-?"

Rizal quickly jumped into the portal.

**/=+=/**

**Lovino = ****Quezacotl****, the Thunder Bird**

**Erika = ****Carbuncle****, the Diamond Shield**

**A ****Natural**** is an individual who didn't have to face their Shadow in order to obtain their sols or Personas. This is somewhat of a throw-back to ****Persona 3****, where the main cast of characters could achieve their Personas naturally, and their opponents had their Personas forced out of them **_**(Triggers?)**_**. Because of their nature, Naturals don't really have Shadows or are extremely weak. Naturals are usually pure-hearted and hold no malice, and could activate whenever they want.**

**A ****Trigger**** is an individual who had to face their Shadow or had them activated by a Natural's presence, or "triggering" them. This is a throw-back to ****Persona 4****, where the main character was a Natural and all of the supporting cast were "triggered" by him to have their Persona available to them. Normal people are usually Triggers. Due to the balanced light and darkness in a Trigger, it isn't really recommended that Triggers summon their sols in the positive realm **_**(where we are)**_** or else…well, that's for another chapter :D**


	17. The Newest Victim

Rizal turned his head around and noticed that he was in the biggest area that he had ever seen in a Shadow's world. He looked down and found himself looking like a crusader in a European city, just about to go to war in what looked like a hilly meadow. The buds around him looked frozen in time, as if they were never going to bloom.

_This place…whose mind did they take?_

Five seconds later, someone came tumbling in after him. The Filipino didn't have to turn his head to hear Lovino swear a couple of times and dust off what looked like the outfit of a Renaissance royal. The dirt on the ground didn't cling onto his outfit like it would've. It was almost as if time had stood still…

"Where the fuck are we?" He stood up.

"In someone's world."

"Whose world?"

"Like I know. I didn't see any trace of them around." Rizal turned his head before blinked. "Op. Someone's coming with us."

Lovino stared at him in confusion as Rizal reached into the sky and started pulling on some air. To his amazement, he was pulling on a delicate hand, and soon Erika came through the air wearing her hair up and some very masculine body armor. She looked around surprised at what she was seeing.

"W…what is this place?"

"It's the other realm. It's a long story, and we don't have that much time to explain it." Rizal answered. "I'll explain what I can while we look around."

"Look around _**what?**_ It's just a huge empty meadow!"

"Well, that explains who we're looking for, right?"

Lovino just rolled his eyes as Rizal escorted Erika around the area. No matter where they were going, all they would see were gardens and mountains. They were beautiful, mind you, but for some reason it didn't even feel like they were heading anywhere. That was pissing Lovino off.

"OK, where the fuck are we? We haven't been moving for _**shit,**_ and now I think we're lost."

"Um…" Erika looked around. "This place looks like the Hautes-Alpes."

At the mere mention of the words, there was the sound of rumbling behind them. The three turned around and saw a small cloud heading toward them from the hills. Rizal squinted and barely noticing something that looked like black horses. Suddenly, he froze in shock, his eyes flashing a brief red.

"Get out of the way!"

"What?"

"_**To the sides! **__**Now!**__**"**_

They didn't hesitate to follow Rizal's orders, charging to the side as the squad continued to come close. Rizal was barely able to get them out of the way as they watched an entire war explode before them. Lovino held onto Erika to make sure she didn't fall off as a few knights barely missed them with their blades. What was weird was that their blades were caked with _**black fire…**_

"Rizal, what the hell is going on?"

"…I have no idea." He stood up. "Ivan told me that it's commonplace, but I never saw Shadows fight each other before."

"_So this is a Shadow's war…"_ Lovino looked around. _"The clash of millions of true selves…"_

"What…" Erika stood up. "What is this?"

"Well, according to Ivan…" Rizal looked down. "This is the birth of nightmares."

"Nightmares? The fuck are you-?"

"Take a look."

Rizal pointed forward and saw that some of the Shadows were falling in battle. As they fell, black flames shot upward into the air, disappearing into the sky and almost burning the atmosphere that was in contact with it. Lovino stared at the whole chain of events in confusion, wondering what he was seeing.

"When a Shadow dies in this conflict, their thoughts are freed into the atmosphere, and like magnets they are attracted to the mind of their creator." Rizal answered. "Because of the nature of both sols and Shadows, they clash in the mind of the creator, creating a nightmare."

"_Wow…"_ Erika looked around. "So many nightmares…"

"That's the thing…they already dragged a human down to feast. They shouldn't be fighting each other like this…" Rizal looked up. _"Unless they're building up an army…"_

"Say what now?"

"They're scared of their victim…that's the only explanation."

"So we can save whoever they dragged down here?"

"If they don't kill us first…"

"So where do we start looking?"

Rizal started looking around, leaving the other two wondering just what the heck he was planning to do. From the corner of her eye, Erika could see his eyes flashing back to a strange shade of hazel-red…and was his nose twitching? Before she could question it, he pointed at one of the mountains.

"There." His voice was blank. "He'll be there."

"What makes you say that, bastard?" Lovino grumbled.

"A hunch." He answered with a shrug. "Unless you have a better idea."

"…not really. So how are we going to go through this huge mess without getting killed?"

"We tear through the war."

"Fine- wait, _**what? ARE YOU NUTS?"**_ Lovino spat. "If you haven't realized anything, me and Erika just started whatever the hell you call this profession!"

"True…all right. I'll tear through the war. You two just have to catch up."

"_**That's not a better plan!"**_

"We have to get to the other side." Rizal answered. "Again, you have a better idea?"

Lovino grumbled, beaten.

"Then we're going through." He answered. "I only got two rules for you two. One, stay as close as you can."

"Easy enough." The Italian muttered.

"Two: whatever you do, make sure I don't see you until my weapon is away."

_Say what?_

"Now that's out of the way."

The Filipino gestured them to be as close to him as possible as he started to play with his yoyo. They could hear a low chuckle before the toy snapped into the golden blade Lovino had barely seen before and he charged forward, leaving the other two in the dust.

"Wha-**hey!"** He turned to Erika. "Come on! He's blasting through them!"

"All right!" _Rizal looks so different from his usual self…_

The two of them kept as close as possible as Rizal tore up the place and the Shadows with one swing of the blade. Erika couldn't help but notice that most of them were hesitating when they saw Rizal, almost as if they were scared of him as well. Then she realized that their eyes were fixated on his blade.

"Those things are scared at his weapon." She concluded.

"Hey, according to what I saw, that thing can end these bastards in one stroke." Lovino answered. "No wonder they're backing the fuck away."

"So it's a Vorpal sword?"

"It stopped mine."

Erika stared at him in confusion as Rizal finally got them a clear path across the field. The minute they were away, the war escalated yet again as if they had not been terrified of a glowing yellow sword just a few seconds ago. Lovino held onto her hand as they watched the Filipino stare up into the mountain he wanted them to be at before the sword vanished from his wrist.

"We're good." He answered, turning to them. "You're clear."

"OK, why the hell did you not want us to be seen when you were clearly tripping balls while tripping other balls?"

"It's a secret~"

"_**Son of a-"**_

"Rizal, you said that there's a victim that had been dragged in this place."

"Yes, that's right Erika."

"Well, who's in here?"

"What, you don't know yet?"

"_**No we freaking don't!"**_ Lovino started flailing. "Tell us if you know, dammit!"

"We're standing right on top of the answer."

Erika and Lovino stared at each other for a few seconds before looking down. They were standing on what looked like the surface of a main square, carvings of soldiers and quotes all over. What caught their attention was the one painted picture in the center, where Rizal was standing on.

It was the French flag.


	18. The Cave of Mourning

**/= ["Dust to Dust" by Final Fantasy XIII] =/**

As they entered the cave underneath the mountain, they couldn't help but feel a strange sense of sadness. Erika kept thinking that she was hearing voices of the dead, and Lovino was getting the serious case of the chills. They couldn't see Rizal's face, but even he was taking his time in here.

"Hey, bastard." Lovino spat. "Why the fuck is it so cold in here?"

"Someone else is here."

"Eh? What are you talking about?" The Italian cocked an eyebrow. "Like multiple victims?"

"No…wait, yes?" The Filipino was confused. "I definitely feel multiple presences in here, but only one seems to be in distress."

"How do you know?"

"I just feel it, that's all…oh, Lovino, in case you're curious, this is the reason why Ivan wanted me to fight with him."

"What, for your superb radar skills?"

"Kind of."

Lovino decided not to question it; this bastard was already freaking him out as it was. Rizal continued to lead the way, confused by the lack of Shadows that were around. The Shadows that were here should be alerted by their presence already…either that or Francis _**wants**_ them here…

"What's going on, Rizal?" Erika walked forward. "It feels…congested in here."

"They're just holding back." He answered simply. "You'd feel tense too if you were told not to punch someone you hated into oblivion."

"Is that what's going on here?" Lovino facepalmed. "Seriously? The Shadows just want to eat us?"

"Why do you think the majority of the younger ones attack with their teeth and tongue?"

_Holy crap._

Rizal headed forward, turning every now and then and almost dodging every single dead end they passed. There was one time that they missed a dead end and as they passed the end of the hallway, they heard something crash from behind the wall.

"What the crapola was that?"

"Spiked ceiling, most likely."

"There are TRAPS here?"

"I know, right? Here I thought this guy wanted company."

"How are you so nonchalant about all of this?"

"It grows on you…kind of like war, only not really."

"All right, you're really starting to pour nonsense, bastard."

"Is that so?" Rizal grinned. "My nonsense is sane compared to this realm."

"Since when?"

"That's just the logic of this place."

Lovino stared at him in confusion before feeling the ground shake underneath them. It didn't feel that dangerous, but it was rather worrying. Especially when everything went dark and bright in the matter of a few seconds.

"Ow…" Erika rubbed her eyes. "That hurt…"

"Everyone able to move?"

"We're gonna be fine, no thanks to you." Lovino sighed, standing up and looking at the world. _**"What the hell?"**_

Rizal turned his head and noticed that the world had changed around them. No longer looking ordinary, it now resembled a castle painted by a Renaissance Frenchman. Outside, it was raining rose petals in the darkness of the night.

"That…is just messed up."

"The walls feel like a canvas…the entire place feels like a canvas." Erika rubbed the floor. "It's like we fell into a painting."

"Which means a lot of artistic design." Rizal sighed. "I guess that means we're going to be here for a while."

"What makes you say that?" Lovino spat.

"If we're in a painting, that would mean that we're trapped here. Right?"

Lovino stared at him in confusion before charging forward in the hallway. Rizal and Erika stared in curiousness before hearing something collide with a wall and the scream of a man in pain echoing through the area.

"Told you!"

"You SUCK!" Lovino charged back to him. "So now what?"

"Well, we're in a painting…so that would mean that there would be another one around us, right?" Erika looked around. "Maybe we can find one?"

"We could try the window."

The three of them looked out of the windows to see that they could barely see through the petals. After a few minutes of squinting, they finally found one that was close enough: a canvas they couldn't see a few feet away from them.

"All right…so now what?" Lovino spat. "We can't jump out of here, right?"

"Nope. Too easy." Rizal looked at the wall Lovino came off of. "So we go for option two."

The two of them stared at each other as Rizal headed back to the wall, and then watched as he started pushing on it with all the energy he could muster. Lovino found himself cocking an eyebrow in intrigue.

"What in the world are you doing?"

"Option Two." He answered. "Help me push this."

Erika did it without thinking about it, leaving Lovino standing there contemplating how confusing and idiotic this entire thing sounded like. After a few minutes, he decided that he had nothing to lose and started pushing the wall as well. Instantly, they felt the ground twitch.

"Are we moving up or is it just me?"

"Keep pushing and you'll find out!"

Lovino rolled his eyes and continued to push, finally feeling the room tilting to the side. Suddenly, the room toppled to its side, and the three of them watched as the wall they were pushing turned into a blue sky, and then started plummeting through.

"_**WHAT THE CRAPOLA IS THIS CRAP THIS TIME!?"**_

The three of them landed safely in a bed of flowers, spread by a warm breeze and a large tree shading them from the sun. From the side, they could still see the windows raining with rose petals. Erika stood, feeling the flowers in her hands.

"Canvas."

"And that's another painting…" Lovino sighed. "So now what? Go pushing more invisible walls?"

"Wait a minute."

Rizal turned his head and noticed that there was another figure a few feet away from them. She looked about average, short blond hair and in a beautiful dress, holding a rose and smiling at the window. It was a strange, happy smile that made him feel oddly sad.

"Who is that?"

"A Shadow?"

He walked forward and checked on the figure. Nothing seemed to be moving in the breeze, and she didn't seem to be blinking at all. Rizal leaned forward and started tapping on her dress, and then her hair, then her skin.

"It's stone."

"Not canvas?"

"It's like she was made differently." Rizal looked at her. "Wonder who she is?"

Suddenly, they noticed a shadow streaking the windows, covering the rose petals. The ground began to shake, and the three of them were flung into the walls. The air began to stink of smoke, and the edges began to burn up in flames.

"This painting's being destroyed!" Erika ran to the middle of the room. "Now what?"

"Charge the windows!" Lovino screamed. "Do something! We just can't stay here!"

"Windows it is. Lovino, you go first!"

He rolled his eyes before charging toward the windows, kicking it open and jumping into the rose-colored storm. Rizal grabbed Erika's hand and started charging forward, seeing that she couldn't keep up. He pulled her forward and carried her in his arms.

"You're good?"

"Yeah."

The two of them ran as fast as they could before charging into the windows.

**/=+=/**

"Where the heck are we?"

Rizal and Erika looked up to see a gigantic round room covered with paintings. They could barely see the orange paint that was on the wall, and each painting was being covered by the rain of petals. Lovino turned around and noticed the fireplace where the painting they were in had fallen into.

"This place is oddly…cold."

"That doesn't make sense. There's a fireplace here; it should be warm."

"Well, at least it explains that guy over there."

They turned their heads to see a strange man in a weird outfit painting something on an empty canvas. Rizal tilted his head and noticed that it was the same girl that was in the painting they were just in before. What was his fascination with this woman…?

"_**You are not supposed to be here."**_

"We weren't. We just fell in. Hope you don't mind." Rizal stepped forward. "Listen, we're looking for someone else like us. Long hair, goatee, kinda smelly?"

"Pervert of a Thousand Names?" Lovino added with a sneer.

The man stood up, holding the paintbrush in his hands, before turning toward them with his head down. Instantly, they felt the air tense around them, and the strange voices seemed to shrink away in fear.

"So this is what they were scared of…" Erika shivered.

"_This the leader of the army?"_ Lovino started grinding his heels into the ground.

"_Seems like one…not telling us anything, either."_ Rizal stepped forward. "I'm guessing you don't have a clue?"

The man tilted his head, revealing bright red eyes shedding shining tears. Suddenly, the water from his eyes surrounded the body and contorted to a different shape, one of a man in a bright blue musketeer outfit and a shining black blade.

"Well, I don't think he's going to tell us anything."


End file.
